Saint Patrick’s Days Effect on The Economy
Madelyn Raschka
Holidays are a big deal in the United States. Whatever the occasion, we always find a reason to celebrate.
In particular, Saint Patricks is a holiday that is soon approaching, and will be widely celebrated throughout the U.S. As odd as it seems, St. Patricks day is more widely celebrated here in the U.S. than it is in another place in the world. Even Ireland. About 34.5 million Americans list their heritage as either primary or partly Irish, and that number is about seven times greater than the population in Ireland. On the map, you can see which states have the most Americans who state they are of Irish roots. So in terms of what this means for the economy. Well, millions and millions of dollars are going to be spent by Americans, in hopes to make this the best Saint Patrick's Day yet. 
In 2017 alone, $5.3 billion was spent in just one day of celebrating St. Patrick’s day. This number is expected to increase, and reach an all time high this year. Statistics have predicted that each individual celebrating will spend an average of $39.65 on March 17th, for a projected total of $5.9 billion spent by all celebrating Americans. The chart shows how the average amount spent per person on St. Patrick’s day has fluctuated, however is currently on the rise. And for a smaller holiday, celebrated on just one day of the year (March 17th) there is a rather large revenue that is generated on a year to year basis.
Holiday spending is what makes up for 70% of the GDP. Therefore, this kind of spending is a big deal for the economy. As more and more Americans are “becoming Irish for a day”, more and more money will be spent, as it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain a budget when celebrating holidays. And that is then increasing the total amount spent in that day, therefore positively impacting our GDP. With the trends showing that in the years to come spending on St. Patricks day will increase, it is likely that spending will also increase during many other holidays as well. Which means that consumer spending will continue to drive our GDP growth.
This spending growth can be attributed to more individuals wanting to get involved in every opportunity to do something fun, host a party, or go out. St. Patricks day is driven by many young adults looking to go out and party, spending much of their money on going out to a bar with friends or on decorations for the party they’re hosting. Data shows that 83% of celebrants will wear green, 31% will make a special dinner and 27% will head to celebrate at a bar or restaurant. And each of those tasks involve spending at least a little amount of money. For those who choose to drink, many will use services such as Uber or Lyft to safely arrive home after a night of festivities. Increasing the amount spent by individuals even more due to the new services such as those being offered.
Overall, it is safe to say that Americans like to have a good time, not matter the occasion. And holidays give us even more reason to celebrate. Lucky for the economy, more times that not these holidays are economy boosters and are greatly beneficial.
“The Irish-American Population Is Seven Times Larger than Ireland.” The Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/03/17/the-irish-american-population-is-seven-times-larger-than-ireland/?utm_term=.acf16ab125de.
Ogg, Jon C. “St. Patrick's Day in 2017 to Set Record for Economic Impact.” 247wallst.Com, 21 Mar. 2017, 247wallst.com/economy/2017/03/17/st-patricks-day-in-2017-to-set-record-for-economic-impact/.
Light, Larry. “Why Holiday Shopping Is so Important for the U.S. Economy.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 28 Nov. 2016, www.cbsnews.com/news/why-holiday-shopping-is-so-important-for-the-economy/.
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ReplyDeleteI didn’t even know we spent around 5.3 billion dollars on St. Patrick's Day since 2017. It surprised me that the economy gets most of its money from holiday spendings, but I could see it as a conventional occurrence. I could see that every holiday’s spendings will increase just like the St. Patrick’s Day holiday is, so the GDP will increase drastically due to all of the different holidays. The holiday spendings do seem requisite, since they are doing a positive impact on our economy. In our contemporary society, many people enjoy the partying, so this does end in positive GDP and growth for the economy.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that on Saint Patrick's day many Americans “become Irish for the day” and join in on the celebrations. However, is that a bad thing? You said in your blog “Holiday spending makes up for 70% of the GDP”. So if more people start to celebrate different holidays, the spend on those holidays will just increase and the GDP will be positively affected. In America when people celebrate holidays that they shouldn’t really be celebrating the only damage that is done is to their bodies. Them celebrating those holidays will only get more money into business and boost the economy.
ReplyDeleteIt is crazy to think that even though St. Patrick’s Day isn’t an American born holiday, Americans are still the ones who celebrate it the most and ultimately spend the most money. People buy all kinds of things to celebrate St. Patrick’s which helps to boost the U.S. economy as a lot of money is being poured into this one day. And the spending amounts seem to keep rising each year, so I would say that St. Patrick’s Day is a very beneficial holiday for the U.S.
ReplyDeleteAmericans are known for celebrating holidays that really don't apply to them and like you pointed out, at least there is some good to come from it. We all know that St. Patty's Day is a big deal, but I had no idea that that we spent that much money, even that much on overall holidays. I like that you showed what our money contributes too other than us having a good time.
ReplyDeleteI think that Americans just use any chance they can get to have a celebration or something to look forward to. It is no surprise that Americans put so much time and effort into holidays, and it is around holidays what you really see a boost in the economy because consumers are spending so much money on food, gifts, decorations, etc.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Becca's comment. Because of America's constantly growing economy, consumer spending has always been very high. Consumers spend loads of money as it is, but even more during holidays. And for the most part these holidays don't directly correlate with America. However, I'm not saying this is a bad thing, it's great that the GDP is getting boosted.
ReplyDeleteSt. Patrick's Day is known mostly for Americans getting really drunk and throwing parades and celebrating from sunrise to sunset which is most likely why there is such a huge economic boost on March 17th. Not only do Americans enjoy drinking on St. Patrick's Day, they enjoy drinking on every holiday and because of the continuous enjoyment of drinking throughout the day, holiday drinking is becoming more and more of a common thing to do when celebrating no matter that the celebration is for.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this I really didn’t know how popular St. Patrick’s Day really was. American’s spent over 5 billion dollars on St. Patrick’s Day alone which is very eye opening. This is very important seeing that 70% of the GDP is made up of holiday spending. So the more money spent of this holiday the better our economy grows.
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