Yes but bear in mind that Greece and Ireland had absolutely massive benefits and public sector wages. In their case completely unaffordable. Other countries do have higher benefits and are still competitive - I think that Germany pays more for unemployment than we do for instance and much more for housing.

So, I don't buy the competitive link with benefits. Education, innovation & investment are much more relevant to that.

This post was last modified: 23-03-2012 11:32 AM by lacb.