[Arkie2]

European per capita GDP 50 years ago was pretty much zero as they were just coming off WW II. A better comparison would be results from the last 10 years. The answer to your second question is yes.

[A. Pole]

European per capita GDP 50 years ago was pretty much zero as they were just coming off WW II. A better comparison would be results from the last 10 years.

10 years is too short. Let us look at the 1970s whe US was "coming off" Vietnam war.

[Toskrin]

I posted this on a recent thread a few weeks ago. Here are Germany's and France's per capita GDP over the last few years as a percentage of the USA's:

Germany
1991 80.4%
1992 80.0
1993 77.5
1994 77.0
1995 77.1
1996 75.5
1997 74.0
1998 73.3
1999 72.4
2000 72.6
2001 73.4
2002 72.6
2003 71.0

France
1991 79.4
1992 78.7
1993 76.6
1994 75.8
1995 75.9
1996 74.6
1997 73.3
1998 73.4
1999 73.0
2000 73.6
2001 75.1
2002 74.7
2003 73.2

Down they go. And when you consider that their population growth is slower than ours, that makes the difference that much more.