"copy what works from elsewhere in the world"

Is it working elsewhere in the world though? The graphs in the article that are international show all the other countries experiencing similar problems, just possibly slower. Are there any countries where the nominally expected result of things actually getting cheaper and easier over time are obtained? Given the sorts of things we're discussing, something like a mandatory 35-hour-work day in France or something is still just fiddling around the edges of what "should" be happening.