EU economy 'at least 20 years' behind US

EUObserver ^

[Alex Marko]

BRUSSELS - The US economy is 20 years ahead of that of the EU and it will take decades for Europe to catch up, according to an explosive new study published on Friday (11 March).

The survey, unveiled by pan-EU small business organisation Eurochambres, is intended as a sharp "wake-up call" for EU leaders as they gather on 22 March for a summit on how to boost growth and jobs in the EU economy.

The EU's current performance in terms of employment was achieved in the US in 1978 and it will take until 2023 for Europe to catch up, the report shows.

The situation is scarcely better when it comes to income per person. The US attained the current EU performance in 1985 and Europe is expected to close the gap in 2072.

But the bleakest picture comes when comparing the two economic blocs in terms of research and development. Europe is expected to catch up with the US in 2123 and then only if the EU outstrips America by 0.5 percent per year in terms of R&D investment.

Presenting the survey, Arnaldo Abruzzi, the Secretary-General of Eurochambres, said, "the current EU levels in GDP, R&D investment, productivity and employment were already reached by the US in the late 70s/early 80s".

"Even the most optimistic assumptions show it will take the EU decades to catch up and then only if there is considerable EU improvement", he concluded.

Furthermore, the survey points out that enlargement will make the EU's mountain even harder to climb.

"Data clearly suggest that including the 10 new member countries in the comparison would further deteriorate Europe's position compared to the US for all four major indicators", says the report.

The survey was conducted using a method called the "time distance measure", pioneered by Professor Pavle Sicherl at Ljubljana University.

Eurochambres called for EU leaders to focus on concrete actions to revive the EU's economy and for a communications strategy to lay out the economic challenges facing the EU.

The group represents 18 million enterprises across Europe.

[Hardastarboard]

If it weren't for socialism and the Democratic Party (I'm repeating myself, I know), we'd be 50 years ahead of the EU.

[Flash Bazbeaux]

It struck me as stupid, also. Why? Because an economy is not a "march of progress" toward a particular goal. You could say that technology is twenty years behind, meaning Europe is using technology of the 1980s. You could say that standards of living are 20 years behind, meaning that Europeans have the standard of living that the US had in the 80s. These are aspects that relate to economies that do progress over time, but the "economy" itself does not. In fact, economies are cyclical. As one poster said, I wish we had the economy of 20 years ago now.

As for "it will take decades to catch up", no kidding. If they are 20 years behind, one would figure it would take two decades just to get where we are now, from which point we would have moved on.

[ricks_place]

The metrics employed by this paper are simply wrong. Using economic measures as the sole criteria for economic performance is implicitly biased against human metrics. The human experience is littered with failures attributable to the abandonment of the essential human condition. Humanity is simply not just money. The EU economy and indeed all economies should be compared on the appropriate scale. These scales are enumerated.

1) Lower levels of CO2 gases per capita. Economic cost are irrelevant. The environment is god.
2) Higher levels of unemployment with a commensurate crippling social safety net. Teach a man to fish and he will feed himself during his life, give a man an EU fish and he will vote for the party during his life.
3) Institutionalized corruption for the sake of the politicians. Oil for food, oil for EU politicians.
4) Amoral deviancy promoted.
5) Ghettoizing of Muslim immigrants. Invite the guest workers and then put them out of sight.
6) Passive aggressive support of anti-Semitism to control the unchecked masses of immigrants.
7) Zero population growth. Negative is better. The next generation is irrelevant.

Substitute these metrics and the EU wins!

[SunkenCiv]

EU economy ‘at level of US in 1970s'
Financial Times | 03/10/05 | Tobias Buck
Posted on 03/10/2005 7:26:13 PM PST by Pikamax
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1360493/posts

[SunkenCiv]

EU economy 'at least 20 years' behind US
EUobserver.com | 03.11.2005 | Richard Carter
Posted on 03/11/2005 11:25:35 PM PST by Jumper
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1361327/posts