Now, if, as appears to be the case, Europe does not want its south to spend more than it earns and its north to spend less, wages, prices, and productivity must shift. If we are not to look back in a generation and bemoan “lost” decades, southern European productivity levels need to rise relative to the north, and wage and price levels need to fall by roughly 30%, so that the south can pay its way with exports and northern Europe can spend its earnings on those products.
如果像现在这样，欧洲不愿继续容许南方花钱比挣钱多而北方挣钱比花钱多，就必须相应地调整工资、价格和生产率。如果我们不愿让子孙后代追悔“失去的”几十年，那南欧的生产率水平就必须相对于北欧升高，同时工资和价格水平则必须降低约30%，这样南欧才能依靠出口支撑消费而北欧则用盈利来购买南欧的产品。