Edward Conard

Top Ten New York Times Bestselling Author

  • “…challenges misconceptions that distort our economic debates.” - Arthur Brooks, President of the American Enterprise Institute
  • “Unintended Consequences should be read by anyone who takes for granted the superiority of progressive taxation and has not thought carefully about the trade-offs involved.” - The New Republic
  • “Unintended Consequences is far smarter and more thought-provoking than most economics written for the general public” - Greg Mankiw, Harvard University, Former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors
  • “Unintended Consequences provides a provocative interpretation of the causes of the global financial crisis and the policies needed to return to rapid growth. Whether you agree or not, this analysis is well worth reading.” - Nouriel Roubini, New York University; Chairman, Roubini Global Economics
  • “…a comprehensive explanation of the modern economy.” - Julian Robertson, Founder, Tiger Management
  • “…a must-read for serious students of economic policy.” - Glenn Hubbard, Dean, Columbia Business School, and former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
  • “A full-throated defense of economic dynamism.” - The Wall Street Journal
  • “…reminds us that inequality sends a signal of what society lacks most, in America’s case, entrepreneurship and risk taking.” - Lawrence Lindsey, CEO, The Lindsey Group, former Director of the National Economic Council
  • “…a must-read for serious students of economic policy.” - Glenn Hubbard, Dean, Columbia Business School, and former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
  • “Unintended Consequences is full of substance, it is one of the must-read books of the year, and once I finish it I will be giving it a second read through right away.” - Tyler Cowen, Professor, George Mason University
  • “…reminds us that inequality sends a signal of what society lacks most, in America’s case, entrepreneurship and risk taking.” - Lawrence Lindsey, CEO, The Lindsey Group, former Director of the National Economic Council
  • “…a fresh argument for the productive value of inequality.” - David Autor, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Upside of Inequality Oxford Unintended Consequences

AI Summary. Europe generates far fewer companies valued above $1bn than the U.S. or China, and has about a fifth of America's venture capital in dollar terms, limiting research and development spending. The average European Union worker now produces less than 80% of what an American worker produces per hour, down from 95%.

David Luhnow, Tom Fairless, and Andrew Barnett Wall Street Journal
Date Posted:

Europe produces ~85% fewer tech unicorns than the U.S. and has just 20% of its VC funding, as fragmented markets and limited R&D investment drive lagging innovation, productivity, and long-term growth.

Is Europe falling behind the US and China in technology?

Core argument: The average EU worker produced 95% of U.S. output per hour in the late 1990s but less than 80% now, while also working fewer hours amid a cultural focus on stability, job security, and quality of life.

From software to AI, Europe is falling behind in creating global technology companies, stalling economic growth. Specifically, Europe is generating far fewer unicorns—new, privately held companies that are worth more than $1 billion—than the U.S. or China. Those it creates often have trouble growing quickly enough to go public and become dominant players—partly because Europe has 30-plus countries with different laws, languages, and customs, making it harder to scale. With only a fifth of America’s venture capital in dollar terms, there is far less private capital flowing in. This limits spending on research and development that drives innovation. Lacking innovation and new technology companies, European workers are becoming slightly less productive than their American counterparts. In the late 1990s, the average EU worker produced 95% of what their American counterparts made per hour, compared to less than 80% now. They are also working fewer hours, driven by a cultural focus on stability, job security, and quality of life.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. The average EU worker produced 95% of U.S. output per hour in the late 1990s but less than 80% now, while also working fewer hours amid a cultural focus on stability, job security, and quality of life.
  2. Europe attracts only a fifth of America's venture capital in dollar terms, limiting private capital inflows and spending on the research and development that drives innovation.
  3. Europe generates far fewer unicorns—new, privately held companies worth more than $1 billion—than the U.S. or China, and those it creates often struggle to grow fast enough to go public, partly because 30-plus countries have different laws, languages, and customs.

Related Articles:

  • The Tech Industry Is Huge—and Europe’s Share of It Is Very Small — Only four of the world's top 50 technology companies are European, and venture capital technology investment in Europe is a fifth of U.S. levels. Over 50 years the U.S. created 241 companies from scratch worth more than $10bn versus 14 in Europe, by one researcher's count.
  • Why the U.S. Economy Is Trouncing Europe’s — Only about 12% of Americans score at the highest levels on international academic tests versus 34% at the lowest, yet the U.S. has created nearly 250 companies worth over $10bn ($30tn in value) against Europe's 14, and median U.S. disposable household income is 25% above Germany's. The author argues expanding high-skilled immigration is the fastest way to accelerate growth.
  • The Future of European Competitiveness – A Competitiveness Strategy for Europe — A European Union competitiveness report attributes the EU's labour productivity growth gap with the US largely to weaker activity in information and communications technology and large-scale digital services; excluding main ICT sectors, EU productivity was broadly at par with the US from 2000-2019. It estimates Europe's investment share must rise about 5 percentage points of GDP.
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