A major financial hub in Europe centred around Dublin, Ireland ranks among the top ten wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita, although this has been partially ascribed to be inflated due to tax inversion practices of some multinationals operating in Ireland. From 2017, a modified gross national income (GNI*) was enacted by the Central Bank of Ireland, as the standard deviation was considered too materially distorted to accurately measure or represent the Irish economy. After joining the EC, the country's government enacted a series of liberal economic policies that resulted in economic growth between 1995 and 2007 now known as the Celtic Tiger period, before its subsequent reversal due to the 2008 financial crisis.