In the 1970s, the Irish economy was nicknamed the "sick man of Europe".
Comparisons of Ireland with Third World countries were quite common.
It was a country with a large agricultural sector, backward industries, low incomes, and considerable poverty. Most educated people wanted to leave, and many headed for the United States or Britain.
I remember descriptions of Ireland from those days as "the island behind the island." That is, at least, how the country was perceived in continental Europe: remote and disconnected.
Dublin, compared to other European capital cities, seemed little more than a provincial town: small, stagnant and undisturbed by the vibrancy of the world economy.
How things can change.
"Dublin is the best location in Europe for doing business" declared Andersen Consulting - which is now known as Accenture - in 1998.
Today, and during the past four or five years, Ireland has had the highest national growth rate of any country in the European Union (about 8 percent annually). Foreign investment in Ireland has skyrocketed, and is highly concentrated in and around Dublin.
To many, Ireland is still known for its friendly, beer-drinking population.
Guinness is the oldest and still very successful company in Dublin, but today the city houses the European headquarters for many large high-tech and IT corporations, including Intel and Microsoft.
A few years ago, Oracle set up its European training center there. Dublin has also become Europe's most specialized calling center: Citibank, Hertz, Dell, American Airlines, IBM, Ericsson, and many others have their European call center facilities in Dublin.
It has become a trendy city, full of European and American yuppies and expatriates, and returning Irish from abroad. Real estate prices are escalating. As if to acknowledge the city's newfound status, Dublin was declared the European Union's "cultural capital" in 1999.
About 15 years ago, when the Irish miracle started to take off, reference was made to the "Celtic Tiger," in comparison to the rapid developments of small Asian countries such as Singapore and Taiwan. But since the Asian meltdown a few years ago, the Irish have preferred another name for their success: the "Fox Economy."
The Fox Economy is based on careful long-term planning, public-private enterprise, clever competitive investment policies and shrewd marketing.
The technological infrastructure is excellent and was engineered on the basis of tomorrow's needs. Tax incentives for foreign investors are extremely lucrative - to the point where they are at odds with EU tax harmonization directives.
Corporate taxes in Ireland are one-sixth of those in Germany and one-third of those in Britain.
Public education is very good and the work force is highly skilled, particularly in computer use and foreign languages. Last, but not least, foreign investors are lured with friendly service and a customer-driven corporate culture.
The Irish government calls it "policy determined comparative advantage." What makes Dublin such a good place to do business has nothing to do with its location or natural endowments. Dublin is still a flight away from Europe's main business centers and the weather is still bad.
It is all by design. Language skills are taught, infrastructures are engineered, tax incentives are legislated, and even friendliness becomes part of the strategy. Irish eyes are smiling at the prospect of a profit.
In the process, Dublin has become a world city, often ranked at about the same level as Miami.
Both cities have undergone a similar transformation in the past few decades, from a relatively obscure small city to a major international business hub.
The rise of Dublin was carefully engineered and part of a plan. In comparison, Miami's rise seems almost accidental.
In contrast to Dublin, Miami owes a great deal to its advantageous location, the weather and its multicultural population.
If Miami's success was in part based on the large-scale immigration of Cubans and others, it should be remembered that none of that was planned. In fact, it met with considerable local resistance.
Miami is not a world city by design. For the most part, it happened to be at the right place, at the right time.
Indeed, if only for the sake of argument, it is tempting to take it a step further: Miami's natural endowments are so spectacular that it became a world city despite the lack of effective political leadership, economic planning and managerial competence.
Just imagine where Miami could go with some "policy determined comparative advantage."
Jan Nijman is Professor of Geography and Regional Studies, School of International Studies, University of Miami.