In my opinion,the US will see MPL in the next several years. The congress under extreme pressure from Airlines and even manufacturers will bypass the 1500 hour rule and allow alternative licensing with greatly reduced time.
However that will be significant training by air-carriers as sponsors and extensive simulator training in Air carrier operations. It's not a good thing because they will pass this under duress and in a rush ad there won't be the kind of attention to detail that this type of change requires.
The industry simply does not have the numbers of people interested in flying as a career. They have seen every one go bankrupt, here in the US, and pilots lose pensions, take huge pay-cuts and the industry simply has lost its luster.
Being a pilot is now seen as just another job, and it is a job where you are under constant scrutiny, medical testing, drug testing, competence testing, (check rides and training) and no support from you company if you lose your medical or have an incident.
It is an economic fact that price is what you pay and quality is what you get. The quality of the air travel experience has declined for most people. The price has declined and correspondingly compensation and terms of employment have declined. The market signals being sent are that you will get lower quality candidates or competition for highly qualified candidates will increase.
Airlines hate the thought of getting into a compensation war for qualified pilots. In the US they will change licensing methods rather than significantly raise the compensation level to attract the kind of people they want.