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First, as in the US, there are large regional differences. Both between countries and inside of countries (eg Italy, UK). But what do you mean with smaller? C
by the_duke 7y ago
First, as in the US, there are large regional differences. Both between countries and inside of countries (eg Italy, UK).
But what do you mean with smaller?
Cars are much smaller, both because the infrastructure is not built for large ones and the huge US models are kind of pointless.
There are few large stores and many smaller stores instead.
There are not many skyscrapers, in part due to relatively strict building regulations in the big cities.
There are only two really big metropolitan areas: London and Paris.
Also, there might be less of an interest in ostentatiousness. Bigger isn't always better.
That said, the US has a GDP per capita that's almost twice as high as the EU average. And even the most well-off countries, which had almost reached parity, have fallen behind very considerably since the 2008 financial crisis. The US economy has grown a lot since then, while the EU mostly remained stagnant.
(note that GDP/capita is a pretty bad measure, but it gives some idea)
- dijit 7y agoGDP per capita only increases living standards when wealth is spread. Income inequality is significantly higher in the US than in Europe, so the middle classes in europe tend to have more. But your points are valid, there's not many large cities, people tend not to have huge homes or sprawling lawns.
- the_duke 7y agoTrue, and those two aspects actually go together. Larger income inequality leads to more luxury: expensive cars, bigger mansions, etc. Case in point: I saw way more luxury cars in Moscow than in New York or London, while large parts of the city are incredibly ugly and poor.
- weberc2 7y agoThe middle classes in Europe definitely don’t have more. Salaries are 30-40% higher in America (even accounting for healthcare and pensions) and the cost of living is quite a lot higher.
- dijit 7y agoSalary in America vs Europe is apples to oranges. Much like your prices that do not contain sales tax. For instance, my salary in a small Swedish city is 45,000Kr/mo. Of which I pay 6,000Kr in rent and about 3,000 for all my other bills combined (including gigabit internet). However there’s an unseen amount that my employer pays; my 45k salary is more like 90k in company costs. Since the city is small, I would think of this as comparative to somewhere like boulder, CO. So you begin to get an idea of what purchasing power really is here and what things are paid for automatically (like insurances). There’s also a large differentiation in regards to social norms (25 days vacation by law, income support in the event of unexpected job loss, generous maternity/paternity leave) muddying it even more.
- weberc2 7y agoI agree there are things you need to control for, but I don’t think its as hopeless a comparison as you seem to imply. As previously mentioned, I’m already controlling for healthcare and pension, for instance. What other insurances do European governments pay for? As for vacation days and maternity leave, I believe US professionals have pretty generous allowances as well, but I don’t have any data on hand—certainly an interesting question. EDIT: This spurred me to do some research and I came across this analysis by Pew research: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/06/05/through-an-american-lens-western-europes-middle-classes-appear-smaller/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/06/05/through-an-... TL;DR: no matter how you measure, the standard of living is better in the US than in Europe.