In espousing quality of life for his nation, French President Nicolas Sarkozy is rare. Most politicians think economic growth is what makes a nation happier.

"Britain is today experiencing the longest period of sustained economic growth since the year 1701 – and we are determined to maintain it," began Gordon Brown, then chancellor of the exchequer, in the first sentence of his 2005 Budget speech.

Now prime minister, [...]

Economists have tried for a long time to understand why joblessness in the leading industrial countries has risen from around 2 per cent in the 1950s to approximately 10 per cent today. The standard explanations are that trade unions have become too powerful, unemployment benefits too generous, labour too highly taxed, the workers too inflexible. No doubt each of these explanations plays some role in the whole answer. The trouble [...]