European Economy Since 1945

Response 310 German Reunification 318 Normalization and Integration 328 CHAPTER ELEVEN: Integration and Adjustment 335 The Single Market 336 Integration in Practice 341 From the Delors Report to the Maastricht Treaty 346 The EMS Crisis 357 The Transition to Monetary Union 366 EMU and Its Implications 370 Adjustment and Growth 377 CHAPTER TWELVE: Europe at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century 379 Employment and Growth 381 Reducing Unemployment 388 Implications for European Unemployment 393 Productivity Growth 398 Eastern European Prospects and Western European Implications 406 Economic Prospects 412 CHAPTER THIRTEEN: The Future of the European Model 414 Battle of the Systems 419 The Shadow of History 423 APPENDIX: Sources of Growth 427 REFERENCES 433 INDEX 461

and for Europeans who want to know where their continent was right and where it has gone wrong, Mr. Eichengreen has provided an excellent summary."--Daniel Pudles, The Economist "This is a splendidly delivered analysis that helps us make sense of the reversal of growth fortunes experienced by the United States and Europe since the mid-1990s... The European Economy is beautifully written and will be widely read."--Nicholas Crafts, Finance & Development "It is rare indeed for an academic book on the fundamentals of European economic growth to be widely read and circulated outside of academic circles, but if any book deserves to be, it surely is Barry Eichengreen's The European Economy Since 1945. The book is an eloquently written analysis of how the economic and governmental institutions that formerly undergirded European economic growth have become, since the early 1970s, severe impediments to its growth. It is a must-read."--Jurgen Reinhoudt, American.com "Many Eastern states have now joined the EU and made economic progress. Ambitions are high, but the author questions whether Europe can maintain its traditional communitarian ideals as global competition intensifies. Useful notes and bibliography."--Choice "This book sets a new standard for surveys of the period, outclassing the essay collections that have concentrated on Western European experience and single-author narratives that have tended to make dreary reading. Eichengreen has produced an invigorating blend of synthesis and analysis that poses major questions about the nature and evolution of European economic growth, surveys economic arguments, and delivers sharp analysis and clear explanation for the major phases of economic growth and integration... This is a landmark volume, by far the best available synthesis explaining European economic history since 1945, one ring pertinent comparison to U. S. experience that respect institutional differences and cultural preferences between countries. Its explanations and analysis are clear, concise, and engaging. Readers wishing more detail on the economic debates and national economic experiences red will appreciate the state-of-the-art bibliography. Don't miss it."--Kenneth Mour?, American Historical Review "Barry Eichengreen's book The European Economy since 1945 presents a detailed introduction to the economic history of western Europe since World War II, plus a chapter on the history of central planning in eastern Europe and another on the process of transition from the economic environment typical of the Soviet Empire to a free-market environment and the European Union. Those who read it all will not be disappointed. They will find comprehensive information on the postwar situation and the reconstruction, as well as a thorough description of the integration process led to the Treaty of Rome (1957) and the European Union, with particular emphasis on the monetary aspects. The hurried reader will be satisfied, too, because each of Eichengreen's chapters can also be approached as a self-contained, well-researched, and thought-provoking essay in its own right, dealing clearly yet comprehensively with periods and episodes in recent western European history."--Enrico Colombatto, Independent Review "Eichengreen's elegant history shows that Europe's economic performance in the second half of the twentieth century was a success because labour, capital and government committed to achieving both economic growth and stability."--Adam Fleisher, International Affairs "Eichengreen has produced a readable and informative account of Europe's post-1945 economy. Drawing on a lengthy and up-to-date bibliography, he embeds a wealth of economic theories into a political and social context in a way that an intelligent layperson can understand. These strengths should enable the book to find its way into graduate courses on economic history."--Michael H. Creswell, The Historian "The book's strength lies in its ability to create an economic macro-history based on an excellent processing of well-selected statistical data chosen with good reason that is often represented in carefully constructed diagrams. It is in this fusion of 'narrating' with 'showing', consisting of documentation processed on the basis of economic theory that the book, is uncommonly effective... There is a lot to read and to think about in this ambitious book, which is constructed with precision and a notable ability for synthesis. To encourage the reader, it should be added that an excellent bibliography, a series of statistical data that is convincingly treated and adequately explained in the Appendix, and a very wide-ranging and carefully constructed index of subjects and authors quoted, facilitate his labours."--Piero Barucci, Journal of European Economic History