Growing United : Upgrading Europe's Convergence Machine
Since its foundation over sixty years ago, the European Union (EU) has become the modern world's greatest "convergence machine", propelling poorer, and newer, member states to become high-income economies, and delivering to its citiz...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2018
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/250311520359538450/Growing-united-upgrading-Europes-convergence-machine http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29448 |
| id |
okr-10986-29448 |
|---|---|
| recordtype |
oai_dc |
| spelling |
okr-10986-294482021-06-14T10:09:15Z Growing United : Upgrading Europe's Convergence Machine Ridao-Cano, Cristobal Bodewig, Christian INEQUALITY INCOME DISTRIBUTION ECONOMIC GROWTH JOB CREATION TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE DIVERGENCE LABOR SKILLS LABOR MARKET INNOVATION INCOME DIVIDE POVERTY EDUCATION POLICY LABOR POLICY SOCIAL POLICY SOCIAL PROTECTION LIVING STANDARDS EMPLOYMENT UNEMPLOYMENT EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY Since its foundation over sixty years ago, the European Union (EU) has become the modern world's greatest "convergence machine", propelling poorer, and newer, member states to become high-income economies, and delivering to its citizens some of the highest living standards and lowest levels of income inequality in the world. But today, Europeans are increasingly recognizing that convergence is not automatic. Inequality among people has been mounting in many parts of the EU since the 1990s, as low-income Europeans are falling behind in the labor market. And the productivity gap between Southern and Northern member states has been widening since the early 2000s. The EU is growing, but Europeans are not "growing united". Why? Growing United argues that technological change, by revolutionizing product and labor markets, is slowing down the old convergence machine: technology offers ever richer opportunities for well-skilled workers and frontier firms, while low-skilled workers and less productive firms risk falling behind. As a result, countries that provide less opportunities for people to build relevant skills and a less supportive environment for firms to thrive are losing ground. This calls for an upgrade to Europe's convergence machine, to seize the benefits of technological change for all Europeans. Growing United argues that the convergence machine, version 2.0, should focus on the convergence of opportunities for people and firms across the Union. It should support the capabilities of people (skills) and firms (innovation), and provide a level-playing field for people and firms through "flexicure" labor markets and an enabling business environment. 2018-03-08T22:23:05Z 2018-03-08T22:23:05Z 2018-03-01 Report http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/250311520359538450/Growing-united-upgrading-Europes-convergence-machine http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29448 English CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Economic & Sector Work :: Other Social Protection Study Economic & Sector Work Europe and Central Asia Eastern Europe Europe European Union |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English |
| topic |
INEQUALITY INCOME DISTRIBUTION ECONOMIC GROWTH JOB CREATION TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE DIVERGENCE LABOR SKILLS LABOR MARKET INNOVATION INCOME DIVIDE POVERTY EDUCATION POLICY LABOR POLICY SOCIAL POLICY SOCIAL PROTECTION LIVING STANDARDS EMPLOYMENT UNEMPLOYMENT EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY |
| spellingShingle |
INEQUALITY INCOME DISTRIBUTION ECONOMIC GROWTH JOB CREATION TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE DIVERGENCE LABOR SKILLS LABOR MARKET INNOVATION INCOME DIVIDE POVERTY EDUCATION POLICY LABOR POLICY SOCIAL POLICY SOCIAL PROTECTION LIVING STANDARDS EMPLOYMENT UNEMPLOYMENT EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY Ridao-Cano, Cristobal Bodewig, Christian Growing United : Upgrading Europe's Convergence Machine |
| geographic_facet |
Europe and Central Asia Eastern Europe Europe European Union |
| description |
Since its foundation over sixty years
ago, the European Union (EU) has become the modern
world's greatest "convergence machine",
propelling poorer, and newer, member states to become
high-income economies, and delivering to its citizens some
of the highest living standards and lowest levels of income
inequality in the world. But today, Europeans are
increasingly recognizing that convergence is not automatic.
Inequality among people has been mounting in many parts of
the EU since the 1990s, as low-income Europeans are falling
behind in the labor market. And the productivity gap between
Southern and Northern member states has been widening since
the early 2000s. The EU is growing, but Europeans are not
"growing united". Why? Growing United argues that
technological change, by revolutionizing product and labor
markets, is slowing down the old convergence machine:
technology offers ever richer opportunities for well-skilled
workers and frontier firms, while low-skilled workers and
less productive firms risk falling behind. As a result,
countries that provide less opportunities for people to
build relevant skills and a less supportive environment for
firms to thrive are losing ground. This calls for an upgrade
to Europe's convergence machine, to seize the benefits
of technological change for all Europeans. Growing United
argues that the convergence machine, version 2.0, should
focus on the convergence of opportunities for people and
firms across the Union. It should support the capabilities
of people (skills) and firms (innovation), and provide a
level-playing field for people and firms through
"flexicure" labor markets and an enabling business environment. |
| format |
Report |
| author |
Ridao-Cano, Cristobal Bodewig, Christian |
| author_facet |
Ridao-Cano, Cristobal Bodewig, Christian |
| author_sort |
Ridao-Cano, Cristobal |
| title |
Growing United : Upgrading Europe's Convergence Machine |
| title_short |
Growing United : Upgrading Europe's Convergence Machine |
| title_full |
Growing United : Upgrading Europe's Convergence Machine |
| title_fullStr |
Growing United : Upgrading Europe's Convergence Machine |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Growing United : Upgrading Europe's Convergence Machine |
| title_sort |
growing united : upgrading europe's convergence machine |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2018 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/250311520359538450/Growing-united-upgrading-Europes-convergence-machine http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29448 |
| _version_ |
1764469376214368256 |