Lessons from the EU

But, while GDP per capita has been rising in the US, most Americans are worse off today than they were five years ago. An economy that, year after year, leaves most of its citizens worse off is not a success.

More importantly, the EU’s success should not be measured only by particular pieces of legislation and regulation, or even in the prosperity that economic integration has brought. After all, the driving motivation of the EU’s founders was long-lasting peace. Economic integration, it was hoped, would lead to greater understanding, underpinned by the many interactions that inevitably flow from commerce. Increased interdependence would make conflict unthinkable.

The EU has realised that dream. Nowhere in the world do neighbours live together more peacefully, and people move more freely and with greater security, than in Europe,….

In today’s world, too, there is much that is not working well. While economic integration helped achieve a broader set of goals in Europe, elsewhere, economic globalisation has contributed to widening the divide between rich and poor within countries and between rich and poor countries.

Joseph Stiglitz