Deutsch
English
FrançaisSub menu: Home
Home / Index of Authors
Wolf, Martin
Subscribe to receive the texts of "Wolf, Martin" as RSS feeds
3 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Martin Wolf lauds liberalism in the EU
The economist Martin Wolf praises liberalism as the fundamental cement of Europe: "The great achievement of the EU is to establish the co-operative 'service state'. Such a state sees its purpose as serving its citizens, not dominating them, and as co-operating with other states, not dictating to them. The genius of the founders was to realise that a law-governed market economy was the means to this end. ... These were liberal ideas (in its traditional European sense, not its strange American one)... . The EU's great successes have been those of liberalism: the customs union; the competition policy; the single market; the abolition of exchange controls; and the creation of a single currency managed by an independent central bank. Nor is the market economy the only liberal idea embodied in the EU. So, too, is representative democracy. The EU has bound Europe together in incomparably the most successful effort at rules-governed co-operation among states ever."
» more information (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Philosophy, » Europe
How to integrate the immigrants ?
Columnist Martin Wolf is not against poorly qualified immigrants coming to Europe, but wonders about the economic impact. "With fewer immigrants, the economy would simply grow more slowly. But the question for existing citizens is not whether immigration raises the size of the economy, but whether it increases their own incomes per head. ... The opening of world trade is eliminating opportunities for production of labour-intensive tradeable goods and services in high-income contries. Employment of the native-born unskilled must be in non-tradeable activities. If unskilled immigrants drive down wages for such jobs, too, a hapless underclass will inevitably emerge. Does this matter ? The answer depends on whether extreme inequality is compatible with successful democracy."
» more information (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » Society, » Europe
Cracks in Europe's social model
Columnist Martin Wolf suggests the failings of Europe's current welfare state outweigh the benefits. "The time has come for Europeans to ask themselves the unthinkable: can their vaunted social model endure? ... The European state is maternal: protective but also infantilising. Its high taxes and benefits discourage anybody from doing too well, while ensuring that nobody does badly. Its services are available to all, but are also mediocre and inflexible ...For all its much discussed inefficiencies, the trial and error of the market economy proved more effective, because it was more creative and flexible, than Soviet planning. While a far smaller error, European social democracy looks increasingly unworkable in the long run."
» more information (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » Society, » Europe
© 2005-2012