In fact, while Germany did undertake some reforms, so did others, and its labor market does not look substantially more flexible than what one finds in other European economies. A big difference, however, was the turnaround in Germany’s external balance, with annual deficits in the 1990’s swinging to a substantial surplus in recent years, thanks to its trade partners in the eurozone and, more recently, the rest of the world.
事实上，德国确实实施了一些改革，但其他国家也这么做了，且德国的劳动力市场看上去并不比任何一个其他欧洲经济体更灵活。但是，一个重大差别是德国外部收支平衡的转变，从20世纪90年代的赤字一变而为近几年巨大的盈余，而这要归功于其欧元区（最近则是全世界）贸易伙伴。正如《金融时报》的沃尔夫（Martin Wolf）和其他人所指出的，德国经济搭了全球需求的顺风车。