Europe in 12 lessons (PDF)

Europe in 12 lessons
8 Towards a knowledge-based society
As the final decade of the 20th century got
under way, two great changes began transforming
economies and ways of life around
the world – not least in Europe. One was
globalisation: as economies everywhere
became increasingly interdependent, a
‘global economy’ was being born. The other
was the technological revolution – the coming
of the Internet and of new information
and communication technologies.
The technological revolution was born in the
United States and chiefly benefited the US
economy. Doing business via the Internet
made American companies much more efficient
and productive. Between 1995 and
2001, the US economy grew, on average, by
3.6% per year – well ahead of Europe’s 2.4%
annual average over the same period. In
Europe, GDP per capita is only 69% of its
level in the United States, and average
labour productivity in Europe is 78% of the
American figure.
By the year 2000, EU leaders were well aware
that the EU economy needed thorough modernisation
in order to compete with the US
and other major world players. Meeting in
Lisbon in March that year, the European
Council set the EU a new and very ambitious
goal: to become, within a decade, ‘the most
competitive and dynamic knowledge-based
economy in the world, capable of sustainable
growth with more and better jobs and
greater social cohesion’.
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