January 21, 2006
WHAT'S IN IT FOR THEM?
Red tape 'turning best firms away from Europe' (David Rennie, 21/01/2006, Daily Telegraph)
Europe's most successful companies are turning their backs on EU markets because of red tape, a high-level report said yesterday. [...]
The findings made unsettling reading for the EU leaders, ripping into their pledges to build a "knowledge-based Europe" that would overtake America in 10 years.
The reality was the opposite. Not only were US, Chinese and Japanese firms outspending Europe on research and development, the gap with Europe was growing.
Perhaps most damagingly, Europe's most important countries were pouring more and more of their technology investment overseas, as they despaired of the European Union becoming "innovation friendly".
Unless EU governments took bold action to increase spending on research, freed labour markets so skilled workers could move more easily, and stopped pouring taxpayers' money into dying industries, Europe's post-war way of life was doomed.
The report said: "Europe must break out of structures and expectations established in the post-Second World War era that leave it today living a moderately comfortable life on slowly declining capital.
"This society, averse to risk and reluctant to change, is in itself alarming but it is also unsustainable in the face of rising competition from other parts of the world. For many citizens without work, or in less-favoured regions, even the claim to comfort is untrue."
The elderly are by nature risk-averse.
As are women.
Posted by: ghostcat at January 21, 2006 1:31 PMimo, the problem in europe is that innovation threatens the cozy setups that already exist. as long as the pay-offs are made, and competition is kept out, the existing companies don't care about making new things, or making existing things better.
Posted by: toe at January 21, 2006 2:25 PMtoe;
If that were the case, why would those same companies be investing in research overseas?
All;
I still think that the root problem is the EU's inability to decide if wants to be comfortable or competive. As OJ continually points out, nothing costs as much as it used to. In fact, if one is willing to stay a technology generation behind, it's very cheap to keep up. So the EU could easily maintain today's standard of living even with an aging population and lack of innovation.
Pinko economics 101: Just keep cuttting slices from the golden goose and expect the eggs to keep coming.
Sorry, Tovarischii, it doesn't work that way.
Posted by: Lou Gots at January 21, 2006 4:16 PMParasites?
Posted by: Sandy P at January 21, 2006 6:22 PMThe young and healthy will "dive for the doors" hastening the demise of western civilization's birthplace and with any luck it'll take socialism with it when it goes.
Posted by: erp at January 21, 2006 6:32 PM. . . but leave it for the Muslims.
Posted by: obc at January 21, 2006 8:28 PMaog: they are only going through the motions of doing new research. outsourcing research is like outsourcing defense -- it doesn't really get the job done.
Posted by: toe at January 21, 2006 8:33 PM