According to the present analysts’ consensus, growth differential between the two zones is to narrow this year and practically disappear next year. According to the IMF forecasts, growth should reach 3.2% in the US in 2001 compared to 3.0% in the euro zone. 2.2  Structural reforms which are underway in Europe are likely to permit a sustainable non-inflationary growth  The undertaking and speeding up of structural reforms is one of the conditions for a complete success of the euro. In this regard, the Lisbon European Council, held last 23 April, can be viewed as a further BIS Review 52/2000  4  important step towards the necessary medium term strategy for structural reforms in the Union. The labor market has become more flexible in the past few years in Europe. I would like to give a few examples of this evolution. In all countries, the number of people on fixed-term contracts has quickly increased; they counted for a large part of jobs created between 1995 and 1998 and the trend has continued since then. In many countries, fiscal measures (for instance reduction of non-wage costs) have given incentives to hire younger and less-skilled people (France, Italy, Spain and Germany). Another key change is the rapid growth in part-time employment, especially among women. While Europe has long had a strong tradition of economic regulation, it must be acknowledged that deregulation is well underway in most countries.
2  To help on the supply side the Bank has developed an education outreach strategy with three components: 1. econoME: which includes free lesson plans and supporting materials for teachers to use in their classrooms; 2. Bank Ambassadors: colleagues below the director level at the Bank who volunteer to visit schools across the country to explain the Bank of England’s role; and 3. School visits by senior Bank and policy committee members: to spark young people’s interest in economics and to inspire them to pursue a career in related fields. Let me say a bit more about why we are doing this. 1  May 2017 survey conducted by ING and the Economics Network, available at: https://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/research/understandingecon 2 See Haldane, A “Everyday Economics”, Birmingham 2017 2  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/speeches  2  The first objective is to help young people understand the economy and to make better informed personal financial decisions. The econoME lessons are designed for 11-16 year olds and cover: -  The economic factors that influence personal decisions;  -  How to make informed decisions; and  -  How such decisions collectively influence the economy. An array of econoME resources, designed in close collaboration with teachers and education specialists, support these classes. The materials include lesson plans, presentations, videos, activities and real life case studies. And they can be used by non-specialists with no prior economics training.