European Economy in an American Mirror

Barry Eichengreen is George C. Pardee and Helen N. Pardee Professor of Eco□nomics and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research. Michael Landesmann is Scientific Director of the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) and Professor of Economics and Head of Department at Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria. Dieter Stiefel is Professor at the Department for Social and Eco□nomic History and at the Department of Economics at Vienna University.

• Introduction PART I Competitiveness and employment 1 Comparing welfare in Europe and the United States 2 Technology regimes and productivity growth in Europe and the United States: a comparative and historical perspective 3 Longer-term competitiveness of the Wider Europe 4 How well do the clothes fit? Priors and evidence in the debate over flexibility and labour market performance 5 Convergence via two-tier reforms and growthless job creation in Europe 6 Employment and labour productivity in the EU: reconsidering a potential trade-off in the Lisbon strategy 7 Migration, labour markets, and integration of migrants: an overview for Europe with a comparison to the US 8 International migrations: some comparisons and lessons for the European Union 9 American fiscal policy in the post-war era: an interpretive history 10 Fiscal policy in Europe: the past and future of EMU rules from the perspective of Musgrave and Buchanan PART II Governance and social policy 11 Economic institutions and policies in the US and the EU: convergence or divergence? 12 Between neo-liberalism and no liberalism: progressive approaches to economic liberalization in Western Europe 13 Is there a European welfare model distinct from the US model? 14 The Welfare State and Euro-growth 15 The policy of insolvency EU–US 16 Phases of competition policy in Europe 17 European Union expansion: a constitutional perspective 18 Europe’s constitutional imbroglio 19 From accidental disagreement to structural antagonism: the US and Europe: old and new conflicts of interest, identities, and values, 1945–2005

"This book is a must buy for any library with an interest in the study of the European Union. The 19 contributors are highly regarded university researchers and civil servants, with two-thirds of them from the EU. Chapters cover the complete range of economic and social issues, from competition to welfare programs to employment tot he constitutional situation ... this is an excellent book for any student of the EU" -- CHOICE July 2008, Vol. 45 (P.K. Kresl, Bucknell University)