"This short study shines a critical light on these assumptions. Its analyses the economic policy debates on competitiveness in Brussels and other European capitals with regard to their coherence and highlights key theoretical and practical flaws. It sees the so-called »fallacy of composition« as a particular threat to the future of Europe. In other words, what may be perfectly rational and feasible for individual states when it comes to boosting their own competitiveness would result in a macroeconomic crisis if every state pursued the same path. Because competitiveness is relative, this approach would lead to a ruinous contest for lower wages and standards, a classic race to the bottom. In other words, the mantra of general competitiveness would prove a poor engine of growth for a large economic zone such as the European Union. Furthermore, this fixation on competitiveness remains a short-term solution to a deeper lying problem, namely the lack of coherent economic policy goals at European level. In contrast to, for example, the People's Republic of China, which pursues targeted industrial policy and innovation-led strategies, the EU lacks common coordination mechanisms and a long-term economic policy mission statement..."

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