Can European productivity make progress?

Since the Lisbon European Council in 2000, the European Union has been working to improve its industrial and innovation policy, with the aim of turning the European economy into the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economic system in the world. Its initiatives have been mainly driven by concern about the lower productivity of European companies in comparison with their United States competitors. Therefore, European policy makers have advised member countries to strengthen their knowledge base in order to foster productivity and support economic growth. Yet, despite the substantial shifts in policies during the last two decades, the productivity gap between European countries and the US has not been signifi cantly reduced.