Why Is Europe Sabotaging Its Own Economy?

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The European Union, along with closely linked countries, forms the world's second-largest economy, only behind the United States.

• Germany has even surpassed Japan – a stagnating economy – to become the world's number 3 economy.

• The entire continent is largely composed of advanced, high-income economies with top living standards.

However, many economists are showing concern.

• After nearly 2 decades of stagnation, Europe has fallen quite far behind the US in total economic output.

Not long ago, Draghi issued a warning and a plan to rebuild Europe:

To be fair, the US - a high-income economic superpower, is the most reasonable comparison counterpart.

However, it's not just Europe; almost every country in the world has lagged far behind the US over the past half-decade, including emerging economies expected to grow quickly, typified by China.

This makes it easy for many to argue that it's not Europe going slow, but the US surging too fast.

But even if this argument is correct, there remains a big question: why has a continent with a larger population, competitive wages, equivalent or even higher education levels than the US, stable business environment, once the world's leading center of economy and innovation… become inferior?

• The bad news is that most of Europe's current economic problems are self-inflicted.

• But the good news is that because of that, they can completely be remedied.

In today's blog post, Viet Hustler will dissect with readers the reasons why Europe is self-destructing its economy – and the consequences if they are not addressed.

1. Aging Population and the Immigration Challenge

2. “Work - Life balance” - Growth Trap?

3. Energy and industrial crisis

4. Lagging in Innovation and Technology