Five Freedoms Seminar – The European Economy in the Doldrums: How can the EU Improve Productivity and Growth?

European economic growth fails to impress. Since the eighties, it is on a divergent path from the United States, which at present enjoys (±) 40% GDP greater per capita, 25% greater productivity per employee, and 20% greater productivity per hour. Indeed, while the negative or weak rates of growth in the past years link bank to the financial crisis, and the forces that ushered Western economies into the crisis, the underlying oomph in Europe’s economy has been weak for a longer time. The rate of productivity growth has been poor and looks likely to remains so. What explains Europe’s economic doldrums – and what can be done to put Europe on a path of higher economic growth?