1. Economics Issues from
Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog
Why Does Anyone Think
America Should be More Like
Europe? Some Reasons
Posted February 15, 2016
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2. Should America Be More Like Europe?
 The idea that liberals want to make
America more like the rest of the
world has become a favorite
Republican attack line of the 2016
presidential campaign
 Conservatives are especially
hostile to trying to make America
more like Europe
February 15, 2016 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog
“Barack Obama is undertaking
a systematic effort to change
this country, to make America
more like the rest of the world.”
—Sen. Marco Rubio
New Hampshire Republican
Debate, Jan. 2016

3. Some Liberals Do Openly Admire Europe
 In a recent interview on ABC,
George Stephanopoulos
cautioned Sanders that
Republicans were likely to jump all
over him for saying the U.S.
should be more like Scandinavia.
 "That's right. And what's wrong
with that?" Sanders replied.
February 15, 2016 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog
Sen. Bernie Sanders speaking
before Iowa Caucuses,
January 2016

4. Let’s Look at Some Data
 To understand why some
people want America to look
more like Europe, let’s look at
some data
 Specifically, let’s look at the
Social Progress Index, (SPI)
which shows how well
countries convert raw GDP into
good lives for their citizens
February 15, 2016 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog
Components of the Social Progress Index:
 Basic Human Needs (nutrition, basic
medical care, access to clean water,
sanitation, shelter, and security from crime
and terrorism)
 Foundations of Wellbeing (literacy and
quality of primary education, access to
mobile phones and internet, life
expectancy, and environmental quality)
 Opportunity (political rights, freedom of
speech and religion, property rights,
tolerance, freedom of personal choice, and
access to higher education)

5. SPI vs. GDP: An Overview
 This chart shows that the
Social Progress Index
increases as GDP per
capita increases (black
trendline)
 The US does an average
job of converting raw GDP
to a good life for its citizens
(it is right on the trendline)
 Most European countries
outperform the US on the
SPI, in many cases even
when their GDP per capita
is lower
February 15, 2016 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

6. Basic Human Needs
 Northern European
countries (blue dots) all do
better than the US in
providing basic human
needs
 The US is below the
trendline—it does worse
than expected for such a
wealthy country
 Most of the middle-income
countries of Eastern and
Southern Europe (red
squares) also do a better
than expected job of
providing for basic human
needs
February 15, 2016 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

7. Foundations of Wellbeing
 The picture is similar for
the Foundations of
Wellbeing component of
the SPI
 The US performs below
the global trend
 Most European countries
do better than expected,
given their level of income
February 15, 2016 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

8. Opportunity
 The “Opportunity”
component of the SPI is
rich in indicators valued by
conservatives, like
personal freedom, property
rights, and tolerance
 The US performs well by
these indicators, but not
greatly above wealthy
Northern European
countries
February 15, 2016 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

9. The Bottom Line
 If we look at the facts, it is not hard to
see why some people think America
should be more like Europe
 Most European countries do a better
job than the US of converting raw GDP
into a good life for their citizens
 They do better in satisfying basic
human needs and providing the
foundations of wellbeing without
sacrificing key American values like
personal freedom, property rights and
tolerance
February 15, 2016 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

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