Batch cycle-002. Model 0.1.0, graph 0.2.0, parameters 0.1.0. 30 simulations, seeds 1 to 30; probes on 10. Every figure is a distribution over simulations of a structural model with seed parameter values; it shows what the model implies under these settings, not what will happen. Other nations are frozen at their 2026 ratings. No reconstructed historical data is used in this experiment.
Headline
Ireland played 30 rounds from 1996 under the scripted method, with scripted events, 30 times. Its capability index moved from 11.93 to a median of 12.10 (+0.17), with 90 per cent of simulations between 12.09 and 12.11 [experiment_objectives].
Starting position
In 1996 the nation ranks 29 on the index against the frozen field, holds 1 of nine domains at Tier 1 and has a tier rank of 19. Its base income is 379 credits a year, calibrated so that its 2026 position is affordable with headroom for investment.
What was decided
A simulation spent a median of 2,935 credits on moves. The five groups that took most were Social Infrastructure (build, 294 credits, 10.0 per cent); Innovation & Commercialisation (build, 268 credits, 9.1 per cent); Government Effectiveness & Public Administration (build, 177 credits, 6.0 per cent); Digital & AI Competence (build, 165 credits, 5.6 per cent); Energy Technologies (build, 165 credits, 5.6 per cent) [experiment_decisions_by_group]. By mode: build 83 per cent, partner 17 per cent [experiment_decisions_by_group]. Concentration of spending (HHI) had a median of 0.062, and the most repeated action appeared in 50 per cent of rounds.
The leading domain by period: rounds 1 to 5, Strategic Infrastructure; rounds 6 to 10, Financial Strength; rounds 11 to 15, Financial Strength; rounds 16 to 20, Financial Strength; rounds 21 to 25, Human Capital; rounds 26 to 30, Human Capital [experiment_spend_by_period].
What the world did
A median simulation saw 3 shocks and 1 upside events. The most damaging per firing were S01 (30 firings in 30 simulations, −35.2 points each); S02 (30 firings in 30 simulations, −34.6 points each); S10 (30 firings in 30 simulations, −31.0 points each) [experiment_shocks]. Upside events fired 30 times across all simulations [experiment_shocks].
The groups that lost most to shocks, per simulation: Fiscal Capacity & Public Finance −2.78; Economic Leverage & Dependence −2.76; Investment Attraction & Projection −2.74; Export Capability & Sophistication −2.67 [experiment_shock_damage_by_group].
The edges that carried most change through the graph, per simulation: Transport Infrastructure to Trade Facilitation & Logistics (+1.28 points); Fiscal Capacity & Public Finance to Social Infrastructure (+0.50 points); Fiscal Capacity & Public Finance to Force Generation & Mobilisation (+0.30 points) [experiment_propagation_by_edge].
Where it ended
At 2026 the median rank is 28 (5th to 95th percentile 28 to 28), the median count of Tier 1 domains 5 (5 to 5) and the median tier rank 3; the resilient score, the mean score sum over simulations, is 860 [experiment_objectives].
Tier 1 probability changed most in: governance and integrity (0 to 100 per cent of simulations); human capital (0 to 100 per cent of simulations); information and influence (100 to 0 per cent of simulations); production and innovation (0 to 100 per cent of simulations); strategic infrastructure (0 to 100 per cent of simulations) [experiment_tiers_by_round].
Why
Without shocks the index ends +1.311 higher on average, so the shocks cost about 1.311 index points [experiment_probe_attribution].
Holding instead of following this method changes the index by −2.028: that is the method's worth against doing nothing [experiment_probe_attribution].
Removing any single one of the five largest actions changes the index by between −0.004 and +0.008, for example 2018 build Investment Attraction & Projection (24 credits) [experiment_probe_attribution]. The largest actions by credits come late, when income is highest, and are rarely the most valuable.
Removing the largest shock of a simulation raises the index by +0.561 on average [experiment_probe_attribution].
The replay probe reproduces the simulations exactly (index change 0.000000), so the attributions are clean [experiment_probe_attribution].
Surprises
tier_jump (warn): largest gain in one domain within five years: 7 tiers (30 simulations above 2).
saturation_high (warn): 100% of simulations end with a group at 20 that did not start there (median 1 groups).
retired_words (warn): e4-irl/report.md: 'simulations' 2 time(s), first near line 39; use 'simulations'.
The simulation furthest from the median (seed 15) ends −0.02 from it, with 3 shocks and 1 upside events [experiment_outlier_simulations].
Comparison
This is the baseline (hold) experiment, or there is none for this nation in the batch.
Against history: from a reconstructed index of 11.93 the model ends at 12.10, where the 2026 ratings put it at 12.08. Group scores miss by 2.18 points on average, against 1.32 for assuming nothing changed (skill −0.65); the change in each domain has the right sign in 67 per cent of domains. Furthest below history: trade and investment (−1.47); furthest above: strategic infrastructure (+1.72) [experiment_against_history]. The starting position is reconstructed, so part of the error is the reconstruction's.