GDP is a complex measure as it depends on what that hour of work produces. And GDP also includes production that required no labor at all (i.e. see Ireland's incredibly high GDP per capita due to multi-nationals funneling sales through the country).

I was trying to think of some objective measure for "hard working" - I don't really equate this measure with simply the number of hours worked.

I get where you were coming from. I'm not sure there is a better measure.

Well, that's probably because companies make so much "intellectual property" in Ireland, which they then have to pay licensing fees to their Irish subsidiaries to use.

I am being a little sarcastic. This is a description of a standard tax-avoidance scheme.

My point, ultimately, is that I suspect Ireland's numbers are inflated by its status as a tax haven for multinationals.

How is this a response to the comment you replies to?