page_title: Modified gross national income
section_title: 2018 Debt metrics
hierarchical_section_title: Modified gross national income / 2018 Debt metrics
caption_attribution_description: English: Recreation of OECD Public Debt per Capita table for 2015
context_page_description: Modified gross national income, Modified GNI or GNI*, was created by the Central Bank of Ireland in February 2017 as a new way to measure the Irish economy, and Irish indebtedness, due to the increasing distortion that the base erosion and profit shifting tools of U.S. multinational tax schemes were having on Irish GNP and Irish GDP; the climax being the July 2016 leprechaun economics affair with Apple Inc.
  While "Inflated GDP-per-capita" due to BEPS tools is a feature of tax havens, Ireland was the first to adjust its GDP metrics. Economists, including Eurostat, noted Irish Modified GNI is still distorted by Irish BEPS tools and U.S. multinational tax planning activities in Ireland; and that Irish BEPS tools distort aggregate EU–28 data, and the EU–U.S. trade deficit.
  In August 2018, the Central Statistics Office restated table of Irish GDP versus Modified GNI showed GDP was 162% of GNI*. Ireland's public § 2018 Debt metrics differ dramatically depending on whether Debt-to-GDP, Debt-to-GNI* or Debt-per-Capita is used.
context_section_description: The issues post leprechaun economics, and "modified GNI", are captured on page 34 of the OECD 2018 Ireland survey:
  On a Gross Public Debt-to-GDP basis, Ireland's 2015 figure at 78.8% is not of concern;
  On a Gross Public Debt-to-GNI* basis, Ireland's 2015 figure at 116.5% is more serious, but not alarming;
  On a Gross Public Debt-Per-Capita basis, Ireland's 2015 figure at over $62,686 per capita, exceeds every other OECD country, except Japan.
  There is concern Ireland repeats the mistakes of the "Celtic Tiger" era, and over-leverages again, against distorted Irish economic data.  Given the transfer of Irish private sector debt to the Irish public balance sheet from the Irish 2009–2012 financial crisis, it will not be possible to bail out the Irish banking system again.
  In June 2017, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council benchmarked Irish public debt against Irish Tax Revenues (similar to the Debt-to-EBITDA ratio used in capital markets). Ireland's 2016 Gross Public Debt-to-Tax Revenues was 282.9%, the 4th highest in the EU–28 (after Greece, Portugal, and Cyprus).
  In November 2017, the Central Bank of Ireland benchmarked Irish private debt against Irish disposable income.  Ireland's 2016 private debt as a % of Irish disposable income was 141.6%, the 4th highest in the EU–28 (after Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden).
  These two initiatives show Ireland's high public debt levels, and Ireland's high private sector debt levels, imply that on a "total debt" basis (i.e. Irish public debt plus Irish private debt), Ireland is likey one of the most indebted of the EU–28 countries when benchmarked on a GNI*–type basis; hence the importance of a GNI* metric.
caption: OECD Public Debt-per-Capita table for 2015.[65]
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