Perhaps this neglect is simply a matter of timing, and structural reform will wait until Europe’s leaders can sort out how much general fiscal restraint is optimal. Perhaps Berlin, which realizes how much Germany’s own economic success grew from its past structural reforms, will insist going forward that Europe’s periphery continue along a similar path. But for now, the relative silence on such matters from Italy, Spain, and others raises questions about Europe’s ability to promote lasting growth—and find a fundamental solution to its fiscal and financial failings.

Mr. Ezrati is senior economist and market strategist for Lord, Abbett & Co. and an affiliate of the Center for the Study of Human Capital and Economic Growth at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He writes frequently on economics and finance. His new book, Thirty Tomorrows, linking globalization to aging demographics, is forthcoming from Thomas Dunne Books of Saint Martin’s Press.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Chiltepinster. CC BY-SA 3.0.