The reason for asking the question is that the NYT has an article today reporting on how bad social attitudes and an outdated educational system is forcing European businesses to look abroad for qualified workers. While people in Europe may have bad attitudes towards highly skilled professions and their educational system no doubt can be improved, Bill Gates complained in the Washington Post two weeks ago that the United States also does not train enough highly skilled professionals to keep his business running smoothly. I assume that we can look forward to a piece in the NYT examining the problems in U.S. society and the educational system that force entrepeneurs to look halfway across the world for qualified workers. [Added note: My original comment was based on the web version of the article. However, I now have the print copy in its full beauty. It has a graph that shows the percentage of European companies who reported in a survey that labor shortages are limiting their production. The percent saying yes is up from about 2 percent in 2004 to 5 percent at the end of 2006. Before anyone gets too concerned, please note that the just under 10 percent made this complaint in 2000.]
--Dean Baker
