Comparative performance of indigenous and multinational firms operating in Ireland

This study provides background analysis for the European Commission’s Country Report - Ireland 2018 in the context of the European Semester. Specifically, the analysis focuses on the following issues:

• A comparative analysis of the performance of indigenous and foreign-owned firms, in particular with respect to employment and productivity as well as their sectoral and regional patterns;
• Investment in R&D and innovation in both groups of firms and how these investments impact on their innovation and productivity performance;
• The trade performance of the two groups of firms and spillovers from foreign-owned firms on the trade performance of indigenous firms;
• SMEs access to finance and how financing constraints impact on their export, investment and innovation performance.