"Europe is home to 1.64 million researchers, while the US number approaches 1.47 million. ... Europe produced 33.4% of the world's research outputs, while the US accounted for 23.4%."
The US is not really leading the way. It's a bit strange to "consider" Europe as a potential good place for research, it's already way ahead the US.
That's hardly far ahead, barely 11% more than the US. The opposite is true on means, budget and research infrastructure, where the US leads, both in aggregate and per capita, and by much more than 11%.
