摘要：The rapid increase in credit in an economy is now commonly perceived to be one of the
leading indicators 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 between 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.
