The so-called “European social model” has for a long time been held up by Europeans as proof that there are some things they do better than the US. Although the US may have the more dynamic economy, Europeans take pride in belonging to a more cohesive and inclusive society. The big question is whether this model is sustainable.

Official data tend to confirm the Europeans' perception that their society is more equal than the US. As measured by the Gini coefficient - where 0 equals perfect income equality and 1 a situation where one person takes all the income - inequality in the European Union is 0.1 lower than in the US. The average income of the richest 10 per cent of the population is 5.6 times that of the poorest 10 per cent in the US and the gap is growing; in the EU the richest 10 per cent have an average income of 3.5 times that of the poorest. The proportion of the population in relative poverty is 17 per cent (and 21.9 per cent among children) in the US, compared with 9 per cent (and 10 per cent among children) in the EU. Last, the US has more than 2m people in jail - more than twice the figure for the EU, whose population is 100m greater.