"In a global economy there is no difference between Tipperary, Penang state in Malaysia and Shenshen in southern China: the cost of production is what counts." This is how Chris Lydgate summarised the thinking of multinationals after the Seagate closure in Clonmel, as Irish workers were discarded in favour of cheaper Malaysians (The Irish Times, 13 December 1997). This excellent article went to the trouble of putting a human face on "low-cost competition" - but it also fell into the common media trap of implying that low wages alone are responsible for why companies decide to invest in a particular place. If that was the case, why does so much investment flow between the high-cost zones of North America, Europe and Japan? In reality, companies base their decisions on a range of factors, including nearness to markets, the availability of skilled labour and government support (through things like good roads, education and special low taxes). Low wages, like those paid by employers in the Third World, are important, but they are by no means everything.

Otherwise, there would hardly be a "Celtic Tiger".