Richer than the Brits?

ARE the Irish really richer, these days, than the British? A couple of decades ago, even to have asked the question would have seemed ludicrous. The answer, today, depends on your yardstick. If you go by gross national product (GNP), the answer is no—but the gap is closing. If you go by gross domestic product (GDP) per person, the answer is yes, just. And if you go by GDP adjusted for purchasing power (to account for cost-of-living differences), the answer is a still plainer yes. Looking at figures for last year, Eurostat, the EU's statistics-cruncher, puts an Irishman's GDP, unadjusted for purchasing power, at euro23,410 ($24,970) a year versus a Briton's euro22,760. Your average EU citizen's is euro21,130, to an American's euro31,820.