Europe's Unemployment Rate

[kronic]

I think, all countries are significantly making up their unemployment statistics, i.e. not counting those how get no unemployment payments anymore. I've frequently read that real unemployment in Germany is more like 20 %.

@Drogue
But only 20 years ago the UK's economic shape was far worse than say Germany's. That can obviously change pretty quick.

[el freako]

Originally posted by Drogue
I always wonder why? I know our business cycle is a bit different, but I think some of it has to be attributed to New Labour and Gordon Brown.

I think it has far, far more to do with the reforms that the tories enacted in the 1980s.
It was after those that our economies unerlying growth rate and structural unemployment began to improve.

Originally posted by Drogue
After 8 years, with many world problems economically, the UK has done very well, and still is.

That is mainly because Gordon Brown has overseen a very large deterioration in Britian's structural budget deficit - second only to the US's deterioration (and ours was structured in such a manner to provide much more short-term economic stimulus so we got 'more bang for our buck' as well)

[Drogue]

Originally posted by el freako
I think it has far, far more to do with the reforms that the tories enacted in the 1980s.
It was after those that our economies unerlying growth rate and structural unemployment began to improve.

True, those reforms were needed. However alone I don't think they would have worked. Without higher taxes and lower spending to reduce the deficit in 1997-2000 we wouldn't have had the "war chest" to be able to spend through the recession. Luck, probably, but prudent nonetheless, and it did help the country. With Tory lower tax and the same spending plans for the first 2 years, we wouldn't have been able to spend through the recession without a much larger national debt.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Donegeal


Correct, but it far more so than the US....

Maybe my troll wasn't so much of a troll...

Because you need to identify specific policies not just label something as Socialist or Capitalist because all economies are mixed except for maybe Cuba and NK.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Spiffor

Many here do (it works in the UK as well, which is in the EU. Can't get more obvious than that). But try to explain it to our genius central bankers

BTW, the monetary policy is the same for all countries of the Eurozone. It's decided by the ECB alone, so there's no variation among countries.

The US exports it's inflation because it's the primary market where exporters dump their goods. This allows it to use monetary policy more effectively to stimulate growth. A lot of that growth is lost through the expanded trade deficit, but not all of it. Slowly it's having a negative effect, and it could end in big trouble, but it's the only nation who can use this strategy that way with the possible exeption of China now.

[pchang]

I'd like a concrete example of a structural reform.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

decreasing unemployment benefits

[Spiffor]

Fiscal incentives for low-wage work.

Edit: add massive privatization to the mix too

[Provost Harrison]

Originally posted by Lawrence of Arabia
decreasing unemployment benefits

You need to get people back into work. The unemployment benefit here is peanuts as it is but the cycle of people stuck on it for all perpetuity has to be broken...

[Lawrence of Arabia]

thats exactly how you get them back to work. you decrease their incentives not to work. for example, like i said earlier, france has unemployment benefits for 2 years. thats just crazy. it also implies that you can live for two years on those benefits.

[Kidlicious]

Only a moron would want to be unemployed.

[Provost Harrison]

Originally posted by Lawrence of Arabia
thats exactly how you get them back to work. you decrease their incentives not to work. for example, like i said earlier, france has unemployment benefits for 2 years. thats just crazy. it also implies that you can live for two years on those benefits.

We have unemployment benefits until employment is found. Your opinion just shows how you have your head in the clouds. There are those actively seeking employment and just don't have any joy with it and these are the people who need help, not to be treated as another statistic and juggled with accordingly. I have been unemployed for 10 months of my life and I was certainly not there by choice, so don't be so damn insulting as to suggest that completely financially crippling me would have resolved the problem, because it wouldn't!

[Kidlicious]

People have to provide proof that they are looking for work to get unemployment benefits. There are a few idiots who walk around in their sweats getting employers to sign their forms, but they're so stupid that they shouldn't have jobs anyway.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

Only a moron would want to be unemployed.

nah, smart people too. unemployed people look at their paychecks, then look at prospective salaries. then they decide whether going to work is worth the extra whatever they get, or if they should stay unemployed looking for a higher paying job. the result is that they never get employed since they arnt willing to take a lower paying job then they had before.

We have unemployment benefits until employment is found. Your opinion just shows how you have your head in the clouds. There are those actively seeking employment and just don't have any joy with it and these are the people who need help, not to be treated as another statistic and juggled with accordingly. I have been unemployed for 10 months of my life and I was certainly not there by choice, so don't be so damn insulting as to suggest that completely financially crippling me would have resolved the problem, because it wouldn't!

it sure would, you would be forced to take a lower paying job then you normally would want. this gets unemployment down, production up, and kick starts the economy.

People have to provide proof that they are looking for work to get unemployment benefits. There are a few idiots who walk around in their sweats getting employers to sign their forms, but they're so stupid that they shouldn't have jobs anyway.

where did you get this from?

[el freako]

Originally posted by Lawrence of Arabia
where did you get this from?

It's standard practice here in the UK (and also in some other european countries I think)

In order to get the benefit you have to provide documentary proof that you are seaching for a job.

Do you mean to tell me that in the US you can claim unemployment benefit without actually searching for a job?