The largest single type of holiday is visiting friends and family, and the proportion going abroad so small that Harris did not bother to ask the question. Have higher taxes and people will choose to take a greater proportion of their wage in untaxed leisure rather than taxed money. High-tax France works fewer hours than low-tax America, with middle-tax Britain in between.More surprising is some evidence that Americans would be happier taking longer holidays, even at the cost of lower take-home pay, but for cultural and other reasons don't feel able to do so.A new Harris poll underlines how little time US adults take off work One-third will have no summer vacation at all. Now the European working year is anything up to 30 per cent shorter, leading to debates about the impact of European levels of taxation, and whether Americans would - were they able to - like to trade some of their income for more leisure.Overall tax take and the number of hours worked do seem to be related, which is unsurprising. The US has its brief blink of vacation before rushing back to the job. Two weeks a year is the standard entitlement, but many people don't even take it all.'Twas not always thus.
In the 1960s, Europeans worked longer annual hours than Americans. The transatlantic divide is widest over the amount of holiday that people take. Europe is slowly grinding back to work after the long, or at least longish, summer break. But whoever takes over the government next month will have a slightly stronger hand than seemed likely even six months ago. Now it is France, and of course Italy, rising to the top of the "worry about" league. In fact, the next move will probably be up, although not until well into next year, and only if the general growth outlook improves. The European Central Bank will publish its next forecasts for the eurozone economy on 1 September, so we will get more of a feeling for the interest-rate outlook then.Do not expect any new German boom That is not realistic It will continue to grow slowly.
The fundamental problem remains that Germany needs further economic reforms, but that in the short run these reforms will reduce demand rather than increase it.But what one can say is that the country, and its people, are starting to catch a sight of the benefits of their decade of relative austerity The austerity will continue for a while yet. (Note, though, that Mrs Merkel has brought an advocate of a flat-rate tax on to her economics team. Flat taxes have swept across Eastern Europe.)Nor can Germany expect any significant cut in eurozone interest rates. Nevertheless, when world trade does well, Germany does well.Naturally there are shadows. One obvious one is whether export demand will continue to be strong. Another is the tight German fiscal position, which will make it very hard for the incoming government to do much on the tax front. Germany's two largest non-eurozone markets, the UK and US, have continued to grow reasonably swiftly, though the UK is now slowing.
