Still the Right Agenda for Europe? The Sapir Report Ten Years On

The purpose of this contribution is to examine whether the Sapir Report is still relevant ten years after its publication. The analysis is divided into three parts. The first section recalls the main findings and recommendations of the report. The second section examines what has been the political and policy impact of the report. Finally, the third section looks at the development of the European economy during the past ten years. I find that an EU growth strategy is not only still relevant today, but that the crisis has made it even more urgently needed than it was ten years ago. In designing a new growth strategy, which should blend both demand and supply measures, European leaders can probably seek inspiration from our report on how to better use European instruments to foster growth.