After a decade as the best performer in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), Ireland’s economy has started to slow. Past growth has been driven by a booming construction sector, as well as by tax incentives to encourage foreign investment, which have been particularly successful at attracting major pharmaceuticals and high-tech companies such as Microsoft, Dell, Pfizer and Bayer. According to the Irish Economic and Social Research Institute, growth in 2008 has been slowed by both the global credit crisis and the strong euro, which have adversely affected construction and exports. GNP (gross national product) growth is expected to be 1.6%, the lowest since 1988, although the outlook for 2009 is more favorable, as growth is forecasted to be 3.75%. Unemployment is expected to remain low and thus consumer spending is not expected to decline, despite economic uncertainty.