Customer Reviews

Transforming the European Economy

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Why does Europe seem to have lower productivity than the US? Along with unemployment levels about twice the American. The authors discuss several causes. One is that the US adopted new Information Technology more rapidly. Leading to increased productivity across the board, as many industries benefited. Which begs the question of why IT uptake was faster in the US.

The arguments are more complex than this, delving extensively into reams of statistics provided by various governments. Questions also arise about the methodology used by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, for estimating computer price indices. The continued rapid improvement in computer hardware often makes comparisons between equivalent models hard, even if only a few years separate the timelines being considered.

Aside from technology, labour flexibility is also a key factor. Generally, the US leads in this. Being far quicker to dump failing companies and industries than Europe.

The book also discusses ways that Europe might improve its productivity. Maybe by following the American model. Though this can be contentious in some quarters.