Abstract
The differences in the economic growth rates of the European and (United States) US economies have raised many questions relating to the European growth model. The most important of these are: (a) why does the US represent the frontier of economic performance? (b) why has Europe failed to reach US growth levels, as the growth models suggest? (c) why has Europe fallen so far behind the frontier and why is it taking so long to catch up? (d) how can we explain the fact that while both economies converge in terms of labor productivity, they nonetheless significantly differ in terms of output per capita? The European growth lag has led to the shaping of new growth priorities (Europe 2020), primarily emphasizing smart and sustainable growth and employment enlargement. The new growth strategy is founded on three basic economic policy factors: (a) achievement of internal convergence (i.e., attainment of long-term competitiveness and export orientation), (b) the recently modified bank-based growth model and (c) the debt management problem.
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Petrakis, P.E., Kostis, P.C., Valsamis, D.G. (2013). The Growth Lag and Strategic Choices. In: European Economics and Politics in the Midst of the Crisis. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-41344-5_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-41344-5_8
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