Who is having the worst economy? Europe or the USA? (low income, 2009)

[Mekitor]

I know we are having a global recession and huge unemployments. But who do you think is doing a little better and will do much better once the economy picks up? My friend is from the UK and he has a job in the USA, but he says that the UK and Europe will eventually do much better in the end than the USA. Is that true? What do you think?

[skrazzle]

Just a google search:

BBC NEWS | UK | England | London 'worst hit in recession'

UK Will Be Hardest Hit By Global Recession: IMF

World economists predicted today that the UK would be hit harder than any other developed nation by the worst recession in more than 60 years.

It predicted the US would suffer a 1.6 per cent contraction in its economy in 2009, Germany 2.5 per cent and Japan 2.6 per cent and revised the UK prediction from 1.3 per cent to 2.8 per cent.

China will be worst hit by U.S. recession - upiasia.com


I honestly don't know... but everything I turn up seems to show most places will be hit harder then the US, if thats true.. thats sad cuz the US has gotten hit pretty bad... but i'm optimistic it will get better by the end of the year.

[cyrusjul]

Europe will do worse. They rejected helping Eastern Europe and that will drag their economy way down. The Euro will probably be below in value than the Dollar in the end. The UK seems worst hit than the USA right now. Their economy was too dependent on the banking thing and their economy grew too fast. The USA has a more diverse economy. So it can get back on its feet more quickly.

[bale002]

The above poster alludes to a worthwhile point: economies that were most top-heavy in finance are taking the biggest hits, led by the UK (but also Iceland, Ireland and Spain, the latter heavily leveraged in housing), while indeed the US is more diversified in comparison.

Generally speaking, the eurozone economy is more stable around the edges and less volatile, usually meaning slow growth without booms or even zero growth in some countries, while recessions should also be a bit shallower or at least have a lesser impact on the structure of the economy, at least in the short/medium-term.

In the long-term, however, it seems that Europe's structural problems, largely related to aging populations and the welfare state, are even greater than those in the US: to a significant extent, immigration and globalization are designed, supposedly, to smooth out the imbalances caused by these structural issues, for better and for worse.

In the global context, comparing the US to the EU (and Japan - the countries of early industrialization) is like splitting hairs when comparing the two to the rest of the world, unless of course your purpose is insight into some sort of short-term trading of financial instruments or similar.

In the medium-term it is hard to say: the US may be in for a lost decade, like Latin America of the 1980s and Japan of the 1990s (and still counting), but it could also bounce back on a more balanced footing and again achieve spectacular peaks.

Based on current economic policies, however, the US is probably headed for a lost decade, while the EU should continue to muddle along at a slow pace. Not much of a choice really.

[Brit2009]

It really bugs me when some people refer to the UK as if we are Europe! We are in Europe but it consists of many countries, not just the USA. There is a variety of economies within Europe and so it is a little too general to talk of Europe's economy as a whole. Switzerland for example has a fantastic economy as does Luxembourg and Sweden etc whereas the UK has been hit hard. It depends what parts of the economy you are focusing on too as there is currently a higher percentage unemployed in the US than in the UK.

[Damage Control Freak]

Originally Posted by cyrusjul

Europe will do worse. They rejected helping Eastern Europe and that will drag their economy way down. The Euro will probably be below in value than the Dollar in the end. The UK seems worst hit than the USA right now. Their economy was too dependent on the banking thing and their economy grew too fast. The USA has a more diverse economy. So it can get back on its feet more quickly.

As far as broad generalizations about Europe like it was obne big country are even possible, pretty much the opposite of what you're saying is true.
The UK is probably being hit hardest within the EU, however no other country in Europe is comparable to the UK in that regard.
Most of Europe is by FAR less dependent on the banking sector than the USA (with some notable exceptions like Iceland) and the growth rates of the economy haven been lower than in the US for decades.
The US has a much larger service sector and more low income jobs than most European countries and both sectors are extremely cyclical. They're skyrocketing when the good times roll and go straight to hell in this like now.

[ABQConvict]

wrong topic, sorry!

ABQConvict

[Brit2009]

...duh...obviously I meant 'not just the UK'...not 'just the USA'

[BRAZILIAN]

Originally Posted by Mekitor

I know we are having a global recession and huge unemployments. But who do you think is doing a little better and will do much better once the economy picks up? My friend is from the UK and he has a job in the USA, but he says that the UK and Europe will eventually do much better in the end than the USA. Is that true? What do you think?

Worst economy -> EUROPE vs USA = BOTH

[Tjukken]

Well u need to split up europe .

coz its not like usa. europe is not states.

take Norway. we hardly feel the financel crises.
personly i never had it better than now.
No pep here lose their homes and have to live in tents.
unemplyment is stil less than 18 000 pep.

plumbers are needed. yeah.. think of that. we need people.
but industry that depends on xport. has some problems and might have to close.

banks going good. same with insurance. tho after some help from goverment. not all need this help.

the help is needed coz of lack of paying from forren customers.

i bet sevral european contries gona loan from us. again....