The EU desperately needs economic growth to enable its member states to sustain their social security and welfare systems as their societies get older – a challenge that other regions and countries are facing as well. But few confront Europe’s twin obstacles of anemic productivity growth and demographic decline.
欧盟迫切需要经济增长，好让成员国在不断老龄化的同时以维持自身的社会保障和福利制度——其他国家和地区也都面临着类似的挑战。但没几个国家会面临欧洲的生产率增长停滞和人口下降的双重阻碍。以中国为例，虽然该国也遭遇了劳动力减少和退休人员数量急剧上升的挑战，但中国的劳动生产率在过去十年实现了年均9％的增长。