What could prevent another economic model from emerging in Europe after the coronavirus crisis?
Economists, intellectuals and politicians talk about the transition to a different economic model in Europe after the coronavirus crisis, a transition which they hope will take place. Their hope is that after the crisis, Europe is going to focus more on the long term (healthcare, education, training, investment in the future, climate), address the question of strategic industries that should not be offshored and give greater value to professions that have proved to be indispensable (health, transport, distribution, security, agri-food, etc.). But we must also seek to determine what could prevent this transition to another economic model from taking place. It could be: The impossibility for European countries to finance the necessary public spending, especially if the amount of European mutualised financing is not sufficient; The lingering attractiveness of manufacturing in emerging countries, which is markedly cheaper than in Europe; The very high requirement for return on equity from company shareholders, which encourages companies to offshore and prevents them from making investments with long-term profitability; The deterioration in companies' financial situation (losses during the crisis, increase in the debt ratio) which would prompt them to reject new constraints (environmental and climate, offshoring of production, increases in certain wages, etc.) and to reduce their investments.