Walterp
Member
- Location
- Pembrokeshire
France and Britain are similar countries in population, demography, GDP/head, and in their manufacturing and service sectors.
But Britain suffers by the comparison: France has higher living standards ($29,759 versus $26,687 average household disposable income, per OECD 2013), a more equal society, and a better health system, due to more progressive taxation.
Crucially, France is much more productive: the average Frenchman needs to work only Monday to Thursday to produce as much as a British worker from Monday to Friday.
Whilst greater labour market flexibility has produced higher British employment (73% versus 64%, per OECD 2016) and lower unemployment (4% versus 9% per Eurostat 2016), the French produce more, more efficiently, with less. The nexus between stagnant UK productivity, a depreciating currency, increasing inflation, an interest rate rise and concomitant cost of living problems will overshadow British politics in the future.
Distracting myths abound: France does not have a much larger state sector (both countries have roughly the same sized state employment at 5.5 million), French unemployment figures are actually over-stated because of health, pension and retraining rules (total inactivity in the 20 - 64 bracket is, in fact, lower than Britain), public spending in France is more sustainable (pensions are fully financed for the coming 25 years, care for the elderly is financed, and is not mushrooming), and company taxes are not higher (they are much lower, with the effective rate of CT at 12% due to numerous tax credits, versus a lower British headline rate but a higher effective rate of 20% thru’ fewer deductions.
France invests much more than Britain (top in Europe for FDI, per EY), has higher savings rates and lower household debts, lower poverty and inequalities (OECD, Eurostat) and is determined to focus on quality production rather than quantity.
Depressingly, in the Clarivate/Thomson Reuters Top 100 Global Innovators rankings, French companies appear at regular intervals - but there are no UK companies listed in the top 100.
In short, France tends to replace middle skilled jobs by higher skilled jobs, Britain by lower skilled jobs.
This explains why France has more economic potential than Britain.
But Britain suffers by the comparison: France has higher living standards ($29,759 versus $26,687 average household disposable income, per OECD 2013), a more equal society, and a better health system, due to more progressive taxation.
Crucially, France is much more productive: the average Frenchman needs to work only Monday to Thursday to produce as much as a British worker from Monday to Friday.
Whilst greater labour market flexibility has produced higher British employment (73% versus 64%, per OECD 2016) and lower unemployment (4% versus 9% per Eurostat 2016), the French produce more, more efficiently, with less. The nexus between stagnant UK productivity, a depreciating currency, increasing inflation, an interest rate rise and concomitant cost of living problems will overshadow British politics in the future.
Distracting myths abound: France does not have a much larger state sector (both countries have roughly the same sized state employment at 5.5 million), French unemployment figures are actually over-stated because of health, pension and retraining rules (total inactivity in the 20 - 64 bracket is, in fact, lower than Britain), public spending in France is more sustainable (pensions are fully financed for the coming 25 years, care for the elderly is financed, and is not mushrooming), and company taxes are not higher (they are much lower, with the effective rate of CT at 12% due to numerous tax credits, versus a lower British headline rate but a higher effective rate of 20% thru’ fewer deductions.
France invests much more than Britain (top in Europe for FDI, per EY), has higher savings rates and lower household debts, lower poverty and inequalities (OECD, Eurostat) and is determined to focus on quality production rather than quantity.
Depressingly, in the Clarivate/Thomson Reuters Top 100 Global Innovators rankings, French companies appear at regular intervals - but there are no UK companies listed in the top 100.
In short, France tends to replace middle skilled jobs by higher skilled jobs, Britain by lower skilled jobs.
This explains why France has more economic potential than Britain.
