Review: Competere o sparire: Per un nuovo paesaggio europeo

Competere o sparire: Per un nuovo paesaggio europeo by Mario Draghi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Whatever you think of him politically, there’s no denying that Mario Draghi is an extremely accomplished economist. This book is a wake-up call to Europe. With the US turning inward, and China continuing to control its companies and output, and Russia posing a threat to the East, the EU has to unite if it wants to grow rather than stagnate. In fact, he basically argues it could become a beacon of stability in the world, but only if it makes changes.

Some interesting points:

Almost 30 percent of “unicorns” in Europe have transferred abroad after getting funding.

Internal market barriers in the EU are equal to a tariff of around 45% in the manufacturing sector and a tariff of 110% in the service sector.
Internal market barriers in the EU are equal to a tariff of around 64% for machinery and 95% for metals.


GDPR regulations have increased the cost of data for European companies by 20 percent.
GDPR has mainly penalized Small technology companies, decreasing profits by around 12%, reducing VC investment by around 1/4.


In 2023 EU countries spent almost 190 million Euros in state aid, which is 5 times more than was geared toward IPCEI (important projects of common european interest).

EU countries spend around the same as the US, in terms of percentage of GDP, on R&D, but only 10 of this is on a European level.



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Review: Why the Germans Do it Better: Notes from a Grown-Up Country

Why the Germans Do it Better: Notes from a Grown-Up Country by John Kampfner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The main thought that kept coming to mind while reading this is that someone really needs to write the equivalent of this book but for Taiwan. A country boasting the best Healthcare system in world, despite not being allowed in the WHO, the highest GDP per capita in East Asia, the first country in Asia to allow gay marriage, and one of the strongest stock markets in the world, not to mention home of the modern computer chip, and all this with China breathing down its neck. That’s a pretty impressive (or grown-up) country.

In fact, it seems to have much in common with Germany. A lack of patriotism, in the classic sense, and a continuous sense of ‘duty’, for lack of a better word, to do better.

Regardless, those are just my two cents.


This book itself is unfortunately outdated at this point, but still very interesting. The progression since the war to the Germany of Merkel certainly is an interesting one. I was always enthralled by how Germany, despite having just had 2 devastating wars, seemed like the stable country in the EU when I was growing up. However, my impression is that, since Merkel, this hasn’t necessarily been true. The trains in Italy are now more reliable than Germany’s, and after Switzerland set up its cross-Gotthard train, it is one of the only countries in western Europe without High-speed rail.


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Review: Eurotragedy: A Drama in Nine Acts

Eurotragedy: A Drama in Nine Acts by Ashoka Mody
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Ok I'm not going to go through this entire book. I mean, I'm no economist (although I do have a Master's degree in it, so I know a little something), and I tend to see myself as quite neoliberal, but this book reads more like a rant than a true critique. I like to keep open to opposing views on anything, since I figure I'll either learn something new or strengthen my argument against it, but this would do neither. It seems too obviously biased, and catering to people who already agree with it. Simple statements like the Euro "carried no obvious benefits" seem childish, especially since he mentioned some of them right at the beginning (more trade & travel between countries, as well as between Europe and the rest of the world). Not to mention the fact that these countries had been at war a few decades earlier, which devastated all countries involved, and a monetary union is a pretty good deterrent to that.

Anyway, there might be some good arguments somewhere in this book, but I'm not willing to trudge through 672 pages to find out. 

I won't rate this book since I didn't finish it, but this is my rant on the author's rant. 

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