The conventional wisdom is (i) that fiscal austerity was the main culprit for the recessions experienced by many countries, especially in Europe, since 2010 and (ii) that this round of fiscal consolidation was much more costly than past ones. The contribution of this paper is a clarification of...

Intro -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1 Europe and the United States: Two Different Social Models -- 2 Handling a Multiethnic Society -- 3 Americans at Work, Europeans on Holiday -- 4 Job Security, Job Regulations, and 14 Million Unemployed -- 5 Technology, Research, and Universities -- 6...