Exploring the Steady-State Relationship between Credit and GDP for a Small Open Economy - The Case of Ireland

The rapid increase in credit in an economy is now commonly perceived to be one of the leading in- dicators of financial instability. This view has been reinforced by the aftermath of the international financial crisis, which commenced in mid-2007. A key policy response has been to focus on the ratio of private sector credit to GDP for an economy, observing, in particular, significant deviations be- tween the actual and long-run trends of the ratio. This paper examines the issue of the steady-state relationship between private sector credit and GDP in the case of Ireland, a country which, even by international standards, experienced a sizeable expansion in credit over the past 10 years.