What Went Wrong?

Abstract

During the period from its establishment in 1958 until 1973, the average rate of growth among the Common Market countries was 5.1%, the average level of unemployment was little more than 2%, and the average rate of inflation was 3.9%. For the twenty years from 1973 to 1993 the growth rate averaged 2.1%, and the inflation rate 7.0%. The rate of unemployment fluctuated over the period, but overall it has been on a remorselessly upward trend. The average registered unemployment across the whole of the European Union in November 1996 was 10.9%, a more than fivefold increase. Even then, the claimant count, which this figure represents, substantially underestimates the total number of people who would like to work if they had the opportunity to do so at a reasonable wage. What went wrong?

‘Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.’

Aldous Huxley