Jean Thijour, winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Economics and professor of economics at the University of Toulouse, said that compared to the US and Asia, Europe has big problems with competitiveness. As an example, he said that Europe's hourly productivity is only about two-thirds that of the US. “We work fewer hours, but importantly, our productivity is lower.”

Jean Thijour, winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Economics and professor of economics at the University of Toulouse, said that compared to the US and Asia, Europe has big problems with competitiveness. As an example, he said that Europe's hourly productivity is only about two-thirds that of the US. “We work fewer hours, but importantly, our productivity is lower.”