Challenging the Narrative of European Decline
paulkrugman.substack.com
Challenging the Narrative of European Decline
1–10 of 115 posts
Re: Challenging the Narrative of European Decline
#2Krugman sure is a good, probably even great, writer. His prose is almost effortless to consume. On the content, very interesting.
Re: Challenging the Narrative of European Decline
#3Krugman so badly wants this to be true. But handwaving away massive difference in IT innovation and in practical data like housing size and vastly greater American consumption does not make it true. Just 20% of European homes even have air conditioning. European industrial energy costs are more than 2x the U.S. Don't ignore the data. Europe is behind and falling behind at an ever-faster clip. And the strategic issues of continued vast unskilled migration into Europe and the need to re-arm in a post-NATO world are further economic burdens that will tip most of Europe into middle-income status.
Re: Challenging the Narrative of European Decline
#4It's difficult to consider Krugman's takes seriously after his very flawed 1998 predictions. Perhaps he's uniquely poorly suited to understanding the role of technology in economic development, and is best described as an economist with a very limited outlook outside his narrow discipline?
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/paul-krugman-internets-eff...
Re: Challenging the Narrative of European Decline
#5> The risk of being cut off from strategically important technologies, once minimal, is now very real.
Good timing given the Fable 5 story.
Re: Challenging the Narrative of European Decline
#6Krugman so badly wants this to be true. But handwaving away massive difference in IT innovation and in practical data like housing size and vastly greater American consumption does not make it true. Just 20% of European homes even have air conditioning. European industrial energy costs are more than 2x the U.S. Don't ignore the data. Europe is behind and falling behind at an ever-faster clip. And the strategic issues…
Air conditioning is not needed in most of Europe, no idea why that would be a measurement of economic advancement.
Krugman presented arguments with data, it'd be nice to see your data that counters Krugman's argument, not a whole different set of measurements that you are defining as the basis of comparison. It's just a strawman with makeup.
Re: Challenging the Narrative of European Decline
#7It's difficult to consider Krugman's takes seriously after his very flawed 1998 predictions. Perhaps he's uniquely poorly suited to understanding the role of technology in economic development, and is best described as an economist with a very limited outlook outside his narrow discipline? https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/paul-krugman-internets-eff...
I've never heard of this guy before, but this is extremely petty. Are you suggesting you've never been wrong in your life? Do you think it would be interesting if, rather than engaging with anything you said, people dragged out a quote from 28 years ago to dismiss everything you say? This is an embarrassingly low form of ad hominem.
Re: Challenging the Narrative of European Decline
#8"When we compare the European, or at least northern European, economy with that of the United States some points should be indisputable."
So is he comparing Europe to the USA or just Northern Europe? And is he including Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, etc or just the EU? It's rather confusing and I wouldn't even know where to begin in trying to do these comparisons.
I live in Switzerland and have worked on projects all over Europe and work cultures and efficiency are so different everywhere. I definitely have a better quality of life here though than when I lived in the USA.
Re: Challenging the Narrative of European Decline
#9Krugman so badly wants this to be true. But handwaving away massive difference in IT innovation and in practical data like housing size and vastly greater American consumption does not make it true. Just 20% of European homes even have air conditioning. European industrial energy costs are more than 2x the U.S. Don't ignore the data. Europe is behind and falling behind at an ever-faster clip. And the strategic issues…
Air conditioning is not needed in most of Europe, no idea why that would be a measurement of economic advancement. Krugman presented arguments with data, it'd be nice to see your data that counters Krugman's argument, not a whole different set of measurements that you are defining as the basis of comparison. It's just a strawman with makeup.
Most of Europe doesn't need air conditioning? By what measures/what large countries don't have any need there?
Re: Challenging the Narrative of European Decline
#10Krugman so badly wants this to be true. But handwaving away massive difference in IT innovation and in practical data like housing size and vastly greater American consumption does not make it true. Just 20% of European homes even have air conditioning. European industrial energy costs are more than 2x the U.S. Don't ignore the data. Europe is behind and falling behind at an ever-faster clip. And the strategic issues…
> Don't ignore the data.
Ah, the classic "don't ignore the data that confirms my worldview, ignore just the data that contradicts it".
Also known as "lies, damn lies and statistics".