Because of government policies designed to protect European workers from economic hardship, the continent faces the prospect of too few future workers and too many retirees. European countries could have eased its demographic problems by permitting greater immigration of workers, some economists contend.
Birth rates are below worker-replacement levels in Italy, France and Spain.
Unemployment is so high, experts contend, because most European countries have such a heavy layer of labor laws and mandated health and pension benefits. High unemployment has dissuaded many young couples from having children in an effort to avoid additional responsibilities. But in two decades the U.S. median age is projected to be only about 37, while half the people in Europe will be 45 or older. Italy will have a median age of nearly 50 by 2020. The cost of caring for this aged population will be extraordinarily high.