ABSTRACT:
Editors: Almas Heshmati (Seoul National Univ., Korea) and Arno Tausch (Innsbruck Univ., Austria)
Book Description:
The European social model “does not have to be abandoned but it must be adapted to meet the challenges of the 21st century (former British Work and Pensions Secretary David Blunkett). His Prime Minister (Tony Blair), never shying away from confrontations, has set the tone for this debate, to which this book contributes. PM Blair even went further to say recently that nobody would deny that Europe in one way or the other is in a crisis. 20 million unemployed people; productivity rates falling behind those of the USA; outsourcing is increasing, allowing more science graduates to be produced by India than by Europe; skills, R&D, patents, IT, going down not up. India will expand its biotechnology sector fivefold in the next five years. China has trebled its spending on R&D in the last five years. After the negative results of the constitutional referenda in France and the Netherlands, it would be foolish to deny the existence of such a crisis. But what are its causes? Too much globalization, too much distance from the average European citizen, too much regional disparity among members, too heavy tax burdens, insufficient investment in infrastructure for development, or too much regulation? Or a shrinking demographic base and barriers to migration? Or the rigid policies of the European Central Bank and the Maastricht accords? So Europe, again in the words of David Blunkett, has to "learn the lessons of change" if it is to meet the economic challenge posed by India and China. So, do we need after all roadmaps to “Bangalore” to make Europe really fit for the 21st Century?
This book, a real “reality check” of the issues involved, and written by European and Asian and World Bank specialists, leaves behind the trodden paths of transatlantic comparison US-EU and looks at the real global issues that cause some nations to stagnate while others rush forward.
Table of Contents:
Preface
1. Is the European Economy a Patient, and the Union its Doctor? (S. Ederveen, Albert Van Der Horst and Paul Tang, Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis)
2. The Lisbon Development Process: A Note on a New Composite Lisbon Strategy Index (Arno Tausch, Innsbruck Univ., Austria, Almas Heshmati and Jongeun Oh, Seoul National Univ., Republic of Korea)
3. Measurement of Globalization and its Variations Among Countries, Regions and Over Time (Amit Bhandari, Univ. of Kalyani, India and Almas Heshmati, Seoul National Univ., Republic of Korea)
4. Growth, Inequality and Poverty Relationships (Almas Heshmati, Seoul National Univ., Republic of Korea)
5. Will the Lisbon Strategy Create Growth and Jobs? (Joze Mencinger, Ljubljana Univ., Slovenia)
6. An Economist's Manifesto on Unemployment in the European Union (Franco Modigliani, Jean-Paul Fitoussi, Beniamino Moro, Dennis Snower, Robert Solow, Alfred Steinherr and Paolo Sylos Labini)
7. Globalization and the Future of the "European Social Model" (Arno Tausch, Innsbruck Univ., Austria)
8. Demographic Alternatives for Aging Industrial Countries. Enhanced Immigration, Labor Force Participation, or Total Fertility Rate (Robert Holzmann, World Bank)
Index
