It's the 80s and 90s where the US and the UK became distinctly more free-market oriented than the rest of Europe. During the 50s-70s there wasn't that much diff

It's the 80s and 90s where the US and the UK became distinctly more free-market oriented than the rest of Europe. During the 50s-70s there wasn't that much difference between the economic policies of say France and the US. During the 80s and 90s unemployment fell in the US and UK with respect to Europe and growth rates increased. US Unemployment: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/c/c3/20090217012533!Us_unemployment_rates_1950_2005.png http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/c/c3/2... French Unemployment: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/9/9f/20071219000154!Unemployment_France,_UE-15,_G7.png http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/9/9f/2... Comparative growth rates of countries from 1988-2007 http://topforeignstocks.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/1-oecd-gdp-growth.JPG http://topforeignstocks.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/1-... Take a look at the current unemployment and growth rates here: http://www.heritage.org/Index/Ranking.aspx http://www.heritage.org/Index/Ranking.aspx