Despite the crises it has gone through, the European economy extricates itself from Corona before the United States

The European economy has enjoyed great flexibility, which enabled it to absorb the repercussions of the Corona virus and begin to recover from its effects, unlike the US economy, which seems to be in a difficult situation due to the second wave of the pandemic.

In a report published by the American Foreign Policy magazine, authors Joseph de Wake and Elitra Ardessino said that the Corona pandemic has begun to change many axioms in the global economy, the most prominent of which is that the United States always recovers from any economic crisis faster than Europe .

This happened after the recession caused by the oil crisis in the seventies, after what is known as the "internet bubble" at the beginning of the new millennium, and after the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, but the current crisis may be different from its predecessors.

The authors emphasized that European countries were able, shortly after the beginning of the spread of Corona in mid-March, to take decisive measures to contain the crisis, and set huge plans to preserve their economies.

Since the beginning of the crisis, the European Union has approved an aid package of nearly $ 890 billion to help its member states most affected by the pandemic.

According to the two authors, these measures gave encouraging results, as the European economy began to recover. In July, retail trade in the European Union countries witnessed a slight growth, and the numbers also show that visits to stores and restaurants have become close to pre-pandemic levels.

In the United States, the massive government spending did not help absorb the devastating economic effects of the pandemic, the authors say. Besides the significant decline in per capita income, the second wave of infection kept consumption rates at low levels, and US data also shows that mobility does not Still well below the normal level.

The massive government spending in the United States did not help absorb the devastating economic effects of the pandemic (Reuters)

Limited European impact of the second wave

There are several indications that the relative economic recovery - which Europe witnessed during the last period - will not be affected by the second wave, as happened in the United States, despite the high number of HIV cases in France, Spain and Greece.

The figures reveal that the number of new cases of HIV infection in the countries of the Union is much less than the first wave, as the rate of new daily infections has so far reached 45 cases per million people, which is lower than the March and April rates of about 60 cases, and much less than The rate recorded by the United States at the end of July is about 200 cases.

On the other hand, the high infection rates are concentrated in a few countries, including Spain, where the new cases exceeded what was recorded in late March, and the path of the virus’s spread in Croatia, Greece, Poland and Romania is similar to what is witnessed in a number of US states in the south and west.

But most European countries are still under control, and in Italy, Germany, the Nordic countries and most of the Baltic countries, the infection rate increased slightly.

In Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark, the second wave is ebbing, and employees are returning to their offices.

Europe has also succeeded in implementing partial lockdown measures in some endemic areas, as happened in the Belgian city of Antwerp.

For its part, France - in which the rate of new infections exceeded the levels recorded in the first wave - has adopted a strict testing strategy since last August, and the rate of positive cases is still less than the 5% set by the World Health Organization, and mobility has almost returned to its usual levels before the pandemic. .

As for the most important point, it is that the countries most affected by Corona are located on the edges of the European continent and do not have much economic weight in the euro area, unlike the United States, where the second wave struck some of the most important states in the economy.

California, Florida and Texas - the states most affected by the second wave - account for about 30% of the GDP of the United States, while the share of European countries most affected by the second wave is equivalent to about 20% of the GDP of the euro area.

Europe's recovery from Corona faster than the United States strengthens confidence in its capabilities and helps it regain its position (Reuters)

Will Europe regain its place?

The two authors reiterated that the United States was not able to absorb the repercussions of the second wave, although it did not resort to comprehensive closures, as happened during the first wave, due to the behavior of its citizens, who became more cautious and fearful of contracting the virus.

In the United States, traffic data shows that visits to retail stores and recreation centers were still roughly 12% below February levels.

And in California, Florida and Texas, visits decreased by 22% over the past week.

Returning to Europe, things are going much better - although a full recovery of the economy is not expected to happen in a short period of time - as Europeans begin to feel confident enough to resume spending, and governments have confirmed that they do not intend to return to the measures of comprehensive closures and border closures.

The two authors conclude by believing that Europe's recovery from this crisis faster than the United States would enhance the continent's confidence in its capabilities and help it regain its position on the international level in a world dominated by the Sino-American confrontation.