The right track
By James Geary

The wealth, as always, is where you make it.
Low growth and high unemployment are twin strands of a vicious economic circle. In Europe the high level of benefits paid to the jobless not only strains government coffers, but discourages the unemployed from seeking work. The result: governments are financing more and more welfare services from ever dwindling resources. Many European countries are experimenting with innovative ways to trim the welfare budget and share the essentials more equally among governments, business and individuals - while getting more people into work.
In Denmark, for example, young people between the ages of 18 and 25 with no normal qualifications have the duty to undergo 18 months of education to prepare them for the job market. Should anyone refuse, either partially subsidized jobs with private firms or with local or national governments.
This proactive approach is producing results. Unemployment for this age group has fallen from 62,000 in 1993 to 20,000 this year under the program. As part of a similar plan, the government helps place the unemployed in jobs with private companies, with the state paying half the salary for seven months.
Giving individuals not only the right, but the responsibility to work would be an important first step. Some European governments are doing just that by exploring active labour-market-policies, programs in which the state makes unemployment benefits conditional on the recipient’s willingness to accept training and work.