In the 1990s many academics and politicians have perceived the U.S. as a region with high economic growth rates and a large rate of job creation, with low inflation rate and low unemployment rates. The U.S. market economy became a paradigm of a modern, flexible market economy, with lower taxes, less generous unemployment and welfare payments and less regulated product, financial and labor markets.

The low growth rates in Europe and its high unemployment rate in the last decade, of 9 to 10 per cent on average, were seen to be caused by over-regulated product and financial markets, less flexible labor markets, generous welfare state measures, expansionary fiscal policy and high public debt.

Recently, with the creation of the EURO and the creation of the second largest internal market in the world economy, the EURO-Area, the prospects of this region concerning economic growth and labor market performance have been changed.

With the Euro stabilized and the recognition of large markets in Europe, the pendulum in the perception of Europe appears to be swinging back to a more proper evaluation of the European welfare state, its infrastructure, educated labor force, high level of human capital and large markets. Europe again has become an attractive field of academic research and economic investment.

What current research requires is, in fact, a suitable comparative macroeconomic analysis on both sides of the Atlantic, so that the advantages and disadvantages of both types of market economies to deal with problems of modern industrial societies are properly studied and recognized.

Proceed to current projects and specific areas of research in comparative macroeconomics for more details.