If you are worried about the U.S. economy, at least you can take comfort in the fact that you are not trying to run a business in Europe:
forbes.com
Europe's Real Problem
Peter Brimelow, Forbes Magazine, 04.02.01
Europeans worry that the aging of their population means economic stagnation. But they really have a different problem: low work-force participation. Of men over age 16 only 74.4% of French and 79.9% of Germans are in the work force, compared with 84% of Americans. The divergence is particularly marked after age 55—exactly the European group projected to grow the fastest.
Richard W. Judy, director of the Indianapolis-based Hudson Institute's Center for Workforce Development, cites several institutional factors contributing to Europe's sloth: generous unemployment insurance, a regulatory burden that discourages hiring, easier retirement rules and tax rates that reduce incentives.
Further, says Judy, European work-force participation is overstated because of European retraining programs. The real figure may be as much as ten percentage points lower. The good news for Europeans, according to Judy: They have options—if they liberate their labor market.
"Look at the dumb French," Judy says, "legislating a 35-hour workweek." The conceit was that shortened hours would force employers to add more workers—but if anything they seem to be substituting capital for labor. |
