Listen to the Krug-Man:

In today's essay about how Europe is doing pretty well, economically, we read:

Since 2000, employment has actually grown a bit faster in Europe than in the United States — and since Europe has a lower rate of population growth, this has translated into a substantial rise in the percentage of working-age Europeans with jobs, even as America’s employment-population ratio has declined.

Europe could "solve" this problem of higher employment rates with immigration. Just like here in the good old U.S.A., where additional bodies (legal and illegal) help cut into labor's bargaining power - especially at the low end. Why doesn't Europe follow the United States? They're missing out on an opportunity to further imbalance the employer-employee power relationship.

The reason is probably that Europe is less a consumer-fanatic society. In the United States, low consumer prices (for goods and services) is the summum bonum, before which all else must bow.


posted by Quiddity at 1/11/2008 08:29:00 AM