Economist debate: European Holidays

Motion: "This house believes that Europeans would be better off with fewer holidays and higher incomes"
Do Europeans take too many holidays?

Dear Reader,
We have a winner in our debate on vacation time. The team arguing against the motion has won the debate convincingly, with 79% against 21% of the votes. This house does not believe that "Europeans take too much holiday."

The voting record shows the weight of opinion has been consistently 4:1 against the motion from the outset, though the pro team's Robert J Gordon did shift his share of the vote by a few percentage points in the course of the debate. The final vote (and the many laments from the floor by overworked Americans) shows that most readers believe lost income is a price worth paying for extra holidays.

For his part, John de Graaf, arguing against the motion, eloquently made the case that there is more to life than work and money. His argument that Europe has established a better balance between work and leisure was bolstered by the contributions from guest commentators.

John O'Sullivan
Debate Moderator
Economics Correspondent
The Economist