Economist Paul Krugman famously coined the term 'leprechaun economics' to describe Ireland's massive twenty-six percent GDP growth in 2015, which was entirely a statistical…

A closer look

Economist Paul Krugman famously coined the term 'leprechaun economics' to describe Ireland's massive twenty-six percent GDP growth in 2015, which was entirely a statistical illusion caused by multinational corporations moving their intellectual property assets for tax purposes. Apple and other massive tech giants essentially shifted their paperwork around to exploit Irish tax loopholes, making the country look like an unstoppable economic juggernaut on paper while changing absolutely nothing for the average citizen. It perfectly highlights the complete absurdity of using gross domestic product as a reliable measure of a nation's actual prosperity. We have constructed a global financial system so completely detached from physical reality that a country's economic output can skyrocket overnight simply because a few lawyers in Silicon Valley filed some incredibly sneaky tax forms!