well these days is that in the wake of their own economic crises in the 1990s, they undertook major market-friendly reforms and made their welfare states more sustainable. are all these changes in policy irrelevant to the countries' subsequent successes? in europe countries like greece and italy will not get sustained growth simply from stimulus spending and easy money. most have rigid labor markets, high labor costs, and inefficient and protected industries and guilds. without change these economies might get a temporary boost, but they'll remain uncompetitive in the long run. italy ranks 73rd overall on the doing business survey from the world bank behind many emerging markets. these countries have to shape up their economies to make goods and services the world wants at competitive prices. the story of japan's stagnation over the last two decades is complicated, but some part of