ABSTRACT
This chapter takes up economic issues in contemporary Europe, looking both at longer-term trends and issues that emerged in the wake of the crisis at the end of the first decade of the 2000s. Although the Greek crisis garnered the headlines in the spring of 2010, economic issues writ large always rank as a top concern for citizens and are a major subject of public policy. As noted in Chapter 1, some would contend that the European socio-economic model, which includes a much more developed welfare state than in the US, is one of the cornerstones of European identity. This model took root after World War II and helped ensure economic growth, a high standard of living, and economic security for millions of Europeans. However, in recent decades, as growth in Europe has generally slowed, this model has been challenged on both pragmatic grounds (e.g., can European governments afford it?) and on ideological grounds (e.g., is the high-tax, highgovernment spending model really the best?). Whether or not European states can maintain this model and what policies or reforms might be more attractive are important questions to consider as we look to the future.
