L’Europa dei mercati

Markets – Europe’s Future?

Abstract disponibile solo in lingua inglese

The central thesis of this paper is that, at least in economic terms, it is not true that, as is commonly presumed, Europe is inferior, weak and backward. This idea, nonetheless, exists and serves as an alibi for Europeans themselves as they prepare to make difficult decisions that are important for their future.
This thesis is argued with the help of a summary comparative analysis of recent economic developments in Europe and the USA and of the grandiose morphological transformations which are creating new aggregations and models within entrepreneurialism in Europe. Thoroughout the eighties Europe’s industrial and production strength has increased: America’s has decreased, as has its financial status. The new factor which is at the basis of such divergent trends lies not in European economic policies but rather in the ongoing transformation of enterprises. The latter have been integrated more and more to achieve distinctive dimensions and features that are not generically international but specifically European. This process has been backed up by a redefinition of rôles within the business world: the excessive power of managers has been reduced, less scope has been given to finance and short term profitability than in the USA, and the gap between public and private companies has almost been bridged.
European entrepreneurialism seems not only to be at the centre of the economic scene but also of a wider political-social picture. And this means that new terms must be used to frame the internal relations between society and institutions but also external relations with the rest of the world. More precisely, the future of the "Old Continent" will depend on the capacity of EEC institutions to keep in line with economic developments.