Well, that august title gives the impression of a more thorough treatment than you are going to find here. Allow me a few observations though:
-Whatever one may hear about the stultifying powers of European socialism, what impresses me most about the state of the German economy is the omnipresence of small businesses. On every street block there is a small bakery, a small cafe, a small butchery, etc. (in a decent sized city, at least).
-This next statement is excessively anecdotal, so forgive me in advance, but to me, by and the large, the people working in these places, especially those who appear to be the owners, seem happy.
-True, much of this observation is the residual effect of the overwhelming transcendent effects of travel, which blur the world and make it seem newer and brighter than it actually is (cf. Lost in the Cosmos).
-The prevalence of cheap, local, and high quality dairy is also extremely appealing.
Admittedly, much of these two features of German economic life are propped up, supported by subsidies, with committees and paperwork, etc. Yet the German economy, for some reason or another (and believe me, I do not know a thing about how economies actually work) is undoubtedly the most robust in Europe right now - much to the chagrin of its neighbors.
An additional small defense for these otherwise unjustified observations of a tourist: I've visited Germany five times in the last seven years. If there is one foreign land which has given me the opportunity to grab anecdotal evidence, it is Germany. A fine land!
The Italian economy, on the other hand, seems to be driven entirely by the purchase of of espresso and parking permits.
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