In 1990s, the French saw America as both an incentive for change and an example to be shunned. If the New World's successes—for example, in economic growth—were admired, the ways Americans employed to attain such prosperity were to be avoided. In short, America was simultaneously a model and an antimodel. What the French accomplished in the 1990s was to adapt features of the American way, without admitting it, in an effort to find their own way forward. This chapter addresses policies of the Fifth Republic that were explicitly, or in some instances only implicitly, inspired by the American model. It deals with economic and social policy, business practice, and cultural affairs. In economic and social policy, the focus is on issues like economic and technological competitiveness, unemployment, and the welfare state. In cultural affairs, the focus will be on language—that is, the spread of American English—and on the audiovisual sector.
Is the Welfare State Relevant for Economic Growth? Evidence for Portugal
