Ted: s for your comments, I am surprised that mobility between European countries is still an issue. Is this an issue as well between EU countries?
Very much so. (And the problem is worse - work force mobility in many EU countries is also extremely low... just within that particular country!)
What is the nature of the problem? I mean, what is the reason for the lack of mobility? Unwillingness to move? Fear of a loss of jobs to foreigners? Racial etc.?
I'm not sure how much of a role race plays - within the EU probably not much at all (although the same cannot be said for immigration from Middle-Far East countries, as well as Africa).
The lack of mobility within the EU is rooted, IMHO, in several issues:
- Language barriers. This is a problem mainly with people from the larger countries (Germany, Spain, France, Italy), but is certainly getting better with younger generations. The "European" language is English, whether or not the French will admit it.
- "Unwillingness to move" as you put it. This is quite strange to me (but then I've moved very often, and very far, all through my life), but many Europeans really don't want to move - the most they'll ever do is to a large city in their own country for college. You wouldn't believe the problems there are trying to convince students to take a semester / year abroad. And, mind you, these trips are almost always accomplished at zero cost to the student.
How is the EU to work effectively if mobility is not permitted and/or desired?
This may seem logical to you and me - and probably most Americans (as well as any decent economist), but most Europeans just don't seem to get it.
-fyo |
