The results of the "Lisbon agenda" - the attempt to make Europe the world's most successful knowledge-based economy are generally thought to have been disappointing. What steps should be taken by the European Union, and by national governments

Résumé du document

In March 2000, the Lisbon Strategy was launched to overcome a series of weaknesses in the European economy: long-term structural unemployment, a poor employment rate, and under-development of the service sector. In an often-quoted sentence, it has therefore assigned the EU "a new strategic goal for the next decade: to become the most competitive and most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth, with more and better and greater social cohesion?. The mid-term results published five years after the launch reveal that the focus on knowledge is right but that the sense of urgency is lacking, leaving Europe lagging behind the objectives set and behind the benchmark model of the Unites States.

Extraits

[...] Hence, considering a balanced set of objectives is necessary in order for the European Union to face short- and long-term issues. References Blanchard, O. (2004), Economic Future of Europe”, NBER working paper series, No Bromwich, W., Rymkevitch, O. (2005) “Report on the Conference on 'The Lisbon Strategy, Human Capital and Organisational Innovation”, the International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations, Vol. 21/3. Collignon, S., Dehousse, R., Gabolde, J., Jouen, M., Pochet, P., Salais, R., Sprenger, R-U., Zsolt de Sousa, H., (2006), Lisbon strategy and the open method of co-ordination - 12 recommendations for an effective multi-level strategy”, Notre Europe Think Tank, Policy Paper No Denis, C., Mc Morrow, K., Röger, W., Veugelers, R., (2005), Lisbon Strategy and the EU's structural productivity problem”, European Commission, Directorate-General for economic and financial affairs, economic paper. [...]

[...] This is partly explained by the economic environment turning out sour soon after Lisbon 2000, with a series of economic shocks, including the oil price shocks in 2000 and 2004, the bursting of the dot.com bubble in 2001, the appreciation of the Euro exchange rate and geopolitical uncertainty. Consequently, economic growth was rather sluggish in the first three years following 2000 with average annual GDP growth below in the European Union. Although the GDP growth increased to more recently, GDP per capita remained in 2004 at 71% of the US level (EU commission report, 2005). All in all, the slow growth has hindered the accomplishment of the numerous criteria contained in the Lisbon Strategy. [...]

[...] The results of the “Lisbon agenda” the attempt to make Europe the world's most successful knowledge-based economy are generally thought to have been disappointing. What steps should be taken by the European Union, and by national governments, to improve Europe's industrial performance and close the productivity gap with the US? List of content Introduction Ambitious goals set Structural changes Labour Markets Research and education Environment Conclusion Introduction In March 2000, the Lisbon Strategy was launched to overcome a series of weaknesses in the European economy: long-term structural unemployment, a poor employment rate, and under-development of the service sector. [...]

[...] A. (2006) “Lisbon, Five Years Later - What future for European employment and growth?”, CEP Occasional Paper No Sapir, A. (2005) AGENDA FOR A GROWING EUROPE - Making the EU Economic System Deliver” Report of an Independent High-Level Study Group established on the initiative of the President of the European Commission. [...]

[...] These factors include focussed R&D activities, world-class research and teaching establishments, and a highly competitive domestic marketplace. The US association of public funding with private investments uniquely fosters the exploitation of R&D. This brought the ICT industry from the knowledge creation side to the critical diffusion mass market phase. The biotech industry is the one that is now supposed to lock in the US superiority in productivity and in which the EU has been slow to invest (Gordon, 2004(a)). ICT sector Rendering to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, one must admit that the Lisbon strategy was launched firstly as an answer to the transformations brought about by globalisation and the development opportunities arising from new technologies (Collignon, 2006). [...]