Arnold Kling

Divergence, Big Time?

Arnold Kling, Great Questions of Economics
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In Brad DeLong's Macroeconomics text, he contrasts the convergence of the Western economies with the divergence between the West and the underdeveloped world. That was certainly the way things appeared ten years ago. Today, however, Japan is fading, and Europe's condition is summarized thusly by Karl Zinmeiser.

We have conventionally thought of Europe as having about the same standard of living as Americans. This is less and less true. For the European Union as a whole, GDP per capita is presently less than two thirds of U.S. levels. America's poorest sub-groups, like African Americans, now have higher average income levels than the typical European.

Discussion Question. How does this assessment compare with other economists' views of the state of Europe?

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