Recognising and discussing the elusiveness of industrial policy as a distinct policy concept, this paper argues against what probably is the most extreme type of so-called 'vertical' industrial policy, that is, support for national or European champions. It also critically reviews the rationale...

This paper provides a broad survey of the economic situation in nine Mediterranean Partner Countries, and assesses the impact of the Euro-Mediterranean association agreements. The starting point of the analysis is the observation that overall economic performance of the region has been...

Planned economies produced many goods and services - such as cars, electricity, and machinery - that did not differ fundamentally from those available in market economies. Certainly, the quality and variety of these goods and services did not reach Western standards and there was an almost...

This paper introduces the topic of Europe's changing financial landscape and highlights the findings of the contributions to this volume of the EIB Papers. Key points emerging from this overview include: (i) a variety of factors are reshaping Europe's finance, notably the Single Market, EMU,...

Introducing this volume of the EIB Papers and linking the various contributions, this paper emphasises that the internationalisation of production in Europe, which creates cross-border production networks, is an increasingly important element of globalisation, has been spreading to new EU...

Focussing on two key features of a PPP - the bundling of construction and operation of an infrastructure asset, for one, and private ownership for another - this paper argues that the PPP model is suitable for some public services but not for others. While the incentive-oriented mechanism of...

Recognising that environmental and technology externalities affect the development of renewable energy technologies, this paper illustrates how environmental policies induce technological change and how market failures that hinder technological progress weaken the impact of environmental...

The main purpose of this paper is to preview the other contributions to this volume of the EIB Papers. In this context, it offers a few additional perspectives. One highlights why energy issues have re-emerged as a matter of policy interest. Another concerns the difference between the...