The Future of Europe: Reform or Decline (Mit Press) - Hardcover

Alesina, Nathaniel Ropes Professor Of Political Economy And Chairman Of The Department Of Economics Alberto; Giavazzi, Francesco

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0262012324 ISBN 13: 9780262012324

Publisher: MIT Press, 2006

Synopsis

A provocative argument that unless Europe takes serious action soon, its economic and political decline is unavoidable, and a clear statement of the steps Europe must take before it's too late.

Unless Europe takes action soon, its further economic and political decline is almost inevitable, economists Alberto Alesina and Francesco Giavazzi write in this provocative book. Without comprehensive reform, continental Western Europe's overprotected, overregulated economies will continue to slow―and its political influence will become negligible. This doesn't mean that Italy, Germany, France, and other now-prosperous countries will become poor; their standard of living will remain comfortable. But they will become largely irrelevant on the world scene. In The Future of Europe, Alesina and Giavazzi (themselves Europeans) outline the steps that Europe must take to prevent its economic and political eclipse.

Europe, the authors say, has much to learn from the market liberalism of America. Europeans work less and vacation more than Americans; they value job stability and security above all. Americans, Alesina and Giavazzi argue, work harder and longer and are more willing to endure the ups and downs of a market economy. Europeans prize their welfare states; Americans abhor government spending. America is a melting pot; European countries―witness the November 2005 unrest in France―have trouble absorbing their immigrant populations. If Europe is to arrest its decline, Alesina and Giavazzi warn, it needs to adopt something closer to the American free-market model for dealing with these issues.

Alesina and Giavazzi's prescriptions for how Europe should handle worker productivity, labor market regulation, globalization, support for higher education and technology research, fiscal policy, and its multiethnic societies are sure to stir controversy, as will their eye-opening view of the European Union and the euro. But their wake-up call will ring loud and clear for anyone concerned about the future of Europe and the global economy.

About this title

About the Author:

Alberto Alesina is Nathaniel Ropes Professor of Political Economics at Harvard University. He is the coauthor (with Enrico Spolaore) of The Size of Nations (MIT Press, 2003).

Review:

There is no shortage of scathing descriptions of what's going wrong in Europe, especially in its three largest countries (France, Germany and Italy). But this book is different. Based on serious research undertaken by the autors over many years, its assessment is sure-footed, often unconventional, and always refreshing. It not onlyexplains what's wrong but also offer practical solutions that leave no stone unturned. Very accesibly written, this provocative book deserved to be widely read, especially for the well-informed debated it will trigger.

―Charles Wyplosz, Professor of Economics, Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva

Few scholars are better qualified to analyze the economic condition of Europe than Alesina and Giavazzi. With admirable clarity, supporting each step of thier argument with some striking empricaly findings, they reveal the seriousness of the plight of the major continental European econmies―and the urgency of the need for liberalizing reforms.

―Niall Ferguson, Harvard University, author of Empire and The Cash Nexus

The authors have written an accepible plea for Europeans to reform their economies along American lines. They have converted a great deal of technical thinking and evidence into a lively book that noneconomists can easily digest.

―Charles Tilly, Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science, Columbia University

This unique treatment of important political and economic issues offers interesting data that contrasts trends on two continents. The book's succinct clarity and hard-hitting style suggests that it will be a significant, controversial, and widely cited work.

―James N. Rosenau, University Professor of International Affairs, The George Washington University

Like all market-based economies, the transition countries are now subject to financial instability. This timely and important book uncovers the distinctive features of transition that give rise to financial crises in emerging market countries.

―Charles Wyplosz, Professor of Economics, Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva

About this edition

• Publisher: MIT Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0262012324
• ISBN 13: 9780262012324
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 186