"Not so fast. The euro economy is not a basket case. The denizens of Westminster and Fleet Street who are so quick to write it off should venture out and see. German trains run on time. The French can pop in to casualty to see a doctor after work - and still be home in time for dinner. New penthouses overlook the BMWs that fill Dublin's streets. Most Britons would love to live in such a disaster zone. Statistics confirm this favourable impression. Eight of the 12 eurozone countries are richer than Britain. Five have faster economic growth. Living standards have risen faster in the eurozone (2.2 per cent a year) than in Britain (2.1 per cent) and the US (0.9 per cent) since the euro was launched.
...Even after averaging the much richer west of the country with the ex-communist east, Germany's gross domestic product per person is 6 per cent higher than Britain's. German workers are 29 per cent more productive than their British counterparts. And the gap is widening. Whereas labour productivity in Britain has risen by 19.8 per cent since 1992, it has soared by 29.2 per cent in Germany.
"The bigger picture is that monetary union is helping to drive a restructuring of the eurozone economy, making it more competitive. Germany's trade with other European Union countries has shot up from 27.2 per cent of GDP in 1998 to 32 per cent last year - boosting economic growth. France's has risen from 28 to 31.4 per cent. But Britain's has fallen. By remaining isolated from the euro, we are also losing out on the inward investment that has done so much to create jobs and spread productivity-enhancing technology in the past 20 years. In 2002, our share of foreign direct investment in the EU is set to slump to a mere 5 per cent, according to the UN, compared with Germany's 18 per cent."
posted by Matthew @ 12/10/2002 04:36:00 PM
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