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  3. Much of continental Europe is in poor shape. True, the aggregate wealth of people is little changed and the social capital in mu

Much of continental Europe is in poor shape. True, the aggregate wealth of people is little changed and the social capital in mu

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问题     Much of continental Europe is in poor shape. True, the aggregate wealth of people is little changed and the social capital in museums, parks and other amenities is still intact. Yet, in the western part, the economy is failing society. Inclusion of ethnic minorities and youth in the economy is more lacking than ever. Among those who do participate, fewer are prospering. It is a measure of the decline that, in almost every country, the growth of wage rates has steadily slowed since 1995. What has gone wrong?
    European economists speak of a loss of competitiveness in southern Europe. They suggest that output and employment are down, relative to the past trend, because wages leapt ahead of productivity, making labour too expensive and forcing employers to cut back. Taking this perspective, some German economists argue that wages need to fall in the affected economies. Others argue instead for monetary stimulus—for instance, asset purchases by central banks—to raise prices and make current wage rates affordable.
    Economists of a classical bent lay a large part of the decline of employment, and thus lagging output, to a contraction of labour supply. And they lay that contraction largely to outbreaks of fiscal profligacy—as happened in Europe from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. Disciples of Keynes, who focus on aggregate demand, view any increase in household wealth as raising employment because they say it adds to consumer demand. They say Europe needs a lot more fiscal "profligacy" if it is to bring unemployment down. Some evidence favours the classics.
    Yet both sides of this debate miss the critical force at work. The main cause of Europe’s deep fall—the losses of inclusion, job satisfaction and wage growth—is the devastating slowdown of productivity that began in the late 1990s and struck large swathes of the continent. It holds down the growth of wages rates and it depresses employment.
    That slowdown resulted from narrowing innovation. Even in the postwar years, innovation in Europe was feeble by past standards. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, much of Europe is still suffering a slump on top of its post-1990s fall. The slump will pass but the fall will not be easily overcome. The continent is losing its best talent. It needs to fight for an economic life worth living.
In European economists’ opinion, southern Europe lose competitiveness because______.
选项 A、the output and employment are losing balance
B、the wages in affected economies are too low
C、the increase of wages goes beyond that of productivity
D、monetary stimulus can’t make current wage rates affordable
答案C
解析 根据题干关键词定位到第二段European economists speak of a loss of competitiveness in southern Europe．They suggest that output and employment are down，relative to the past trend，because wages leapt ahead of productivity，making labour too expensive and forcing employers to cut back．(欧洲经济学家谈到了南欧丧失竞争力的情况。他们表示，相对于过去的趋势水平，产出和就业放缓了，因为薪资涨幅超过了生产率增幅，这让劳动力成本变得过于高昂，并迫使企业裁员。)故C项“工资的增幅超过了生产率的增幅”为正确答案。A项“产出和就业正在失去平衡”是现象而不是原因．B项“受影响经济体的工资水平太低”与原文不符，D项“货币刺激手段不能使现有的工资率水平变得合理”是科学家建议采取的对策，而非原因。
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