EIRP Proceedings, Vol 2 (2007)

Abstract

Based on the interdependence of states, ensuring a high degree of economic cohesion may
lead, on the long term, to economic benefits for all the parties involved.
Economic cohesion means “support for attaining the general objective expected by every nation, that of
increasing the welfare. In Europe, the thirty years that elapsed from the war, also known as “the glorious thirty
years”, were followed by other twenty years of reduced economic growth, so that, during the last decade, the
growth process to be resumed. Scholars in economic history outline the essential part played by the three “I”s:
Innovation, Institutions, and Investments.
Social cohesion represents another important element in developing an economic system. The need for
attaining economic cohesion was acknowledged since the industrial revolution (19th century), a period when
social problems came to symbolize the price paid by the society for the technological progress achieved.