Navarro Vicente, Schmitt John
Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Int J Health Serv. 2005;35(4):613-30. doi: 10.2190/6LJJ-HL7H-GF0X-66RC.
This article begins by challenging the widely held view in neoliberal discourse that there is a necessary trade-off between higher efficiency and lower reduction of inequalities: the article empirically shows that the liberal, U.S. model has been less efficient economically (slower economic growth, higher unemployment) than the social model in existence in the European Union and in the majority of its member states. Based on the data presented, the authors criticize the adoption of features of the liberal model (such as deregulation of their labor markets, reduction of public social expenditures) by some European governments. The second section analyzes the causes for the slowdown of economic growth and the increase of unemployment in the European Union--that is, the application of monetarist and neoliberal policies in the institutional frame of the European Union, including the Stability Pact, the objectives and modus operandi of the European Central Bank, and the very limited resources available to the European Commission for stimulating and distributive functions. The third section details the reasons for these developments, including (besides historical considerations) the enormous influence of financial capital in the E.U. institutions and the very limited democracy. Proposals for change are included.
本文开篇便对新自由主义话语中广泛存在的一种观点提出了质疑，即提高效率与减少不平等之间存在必然的权衡取舍：文章通过实证表明，自由的美国模式在经济效率上（经济增长较慢、失业率较高）低于欧盟及其大多数成员国现存的社会模式。基于所呈现的数据，作者批评了一些欧洲政府采用自由模式的特征（如劳动力市场放松管制、削减公共社会支出）的做法。第二部分分析了欧盟经济增长放缓和失业率上升的原因，即货币主义和新自由主义政策在欧盟制度框架内的应用，包括《稳定公约》、欧洲央行的目标和运作方式，以及欧盟委员会用于刺激和分配职能的资源非常有限。第三部分详细阐述了这些发展的原因，包括（除历史因素外）金融资本在欧盟机构中的巨大影响力以及民主的极度有限。文中还包含了变革建议。
