Ask HN: Do you think EU can catch up with US and China?

3 pointsdjvdq3y ago4 comments

EU is lagging more and more behind US and China in terms of high-tech. Do you think they can catch up those two countries? If yes - what do you think have to be done to achieve that?

4 comments

4 comments · 2 top-level

simonblack3y ago· 2 in thread

Not since they lost the possibility of cheap energy inputs with the destruction of the Nordstream Pipelines.

All economic growth depends ultimately on energy. If that energy is too costly, you can't compete. If you can't compete you can't sell. If you have no money coming in, you can't progress. That way lies unavoidable decline and then decay.

fspeech3y ago

South Korea has done well, with no access to cheap energy and high defense spending needs. But I couldn't tell whether they have a good life relative to their number of hours worked.

simonblack3y ago

I haven't looked, but I too reckon you'd find that the wage, infrastructure and social-security structures in Germany are more costly than those in South Korea. Thus meaning that South Korea can remain more competitive than Germany.

GianFabien3y ago

The answer is complex and multi-dimensional. Two random thoughts:

Don't play catch-up in a highly competitive space. Create novel, relatively uncontested areas to work on.

Overcome the comparatively risk averse investment environment. Both the US and China have lots of venture capitalists with substantial invested funds.

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