Britain, Europe and EMU

The British economy appears to be transformed, while in the 1990s other European economies have suffered growing unemployment, rising taxation and increasing industrial unrest. Europe has apparently caught 'the British disease'! This book offers a detailed account of the recovery in Britain's economic performance and the deterioration in continental Europe. Walter Eltis argues that problems will arise if Britain moves closer to the failing European economies by joining the European Monetary Union. The book shows in detail how workers' living standards have risen by almost 30 per cent in Britain, while they have stagnated in France and Germany. Britain has become the most attractive base in Europe for inward investment from leading international producers, and this has transformed export performance. Europe's exploitation of the information technology revolution, frustrated by misguided trade policies, has only reached one-third of the US level. EMU entry would entangle Britain in Europe's difficulties and undermine its achievements. Outside EMU, Britain has the opportunity to become, again, one of the world's most prosperous economies. The book concludes with accounts of the modern relevance of Locke on inflation, Ricardo on public debt and Condillac on the creation of competitive market economies.