Why the asymmetry between the United States and the euro zone when it comes to productivity gains?
In the recent period (since 2017), productivity gains have: Accelerated in the United States; Slowed in the euro zone. What accounts for these asymmetric reactions to a shared environment ( economic “ overheating ” in the late 2010s, COVID crisis, war in Ukraine)? We see that it results from: A decline in per capita working time in the euro zone, which has driven down per capita productivity; Different reactions by companies to hiring difficulties: improvement in working conditions in the euro zone, increased productivity gains in the United States; A stronger determination to preserve profitability in the United States than in the euro zone.