Europe's economic environment has altered considerably over the last thirty years, and the economies of European countries have progressively opened up to the global economy. As a result, the competitiveness of the European economies is dependent not just on production costs, but also on the performance of pension and social security systems guaranteeing security for the future.
Does this next sentence follow, given the preceding text?
Europe used to be a lot better off.

Select from the following.
a). Yes
b). It's impossible to say
c). No
b).