Productivity has grown faster in western Europe than in America
Long hours and a strong dollar give America the lead in GDP per person
THE EU ECONOMY is now 65% the size of America’s in dollar terms, down from 90% just ten years ago. Slow population growth is partly to blame—the number of Europeans has risen by 1.6% since 2012, compared with 6.1% for Americans. Still, GDP per person is higher, and has grown far faster, in the United States than in Europe.
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This article appeared in the Graphic detail section of the print edition under the headline “All work and no play”
Chart sources: OECD; World Bank. Inspect our code on Github.
From the October 7th 2023 edition
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