This paper assesses the effectiveness of vertical industrial policies within the European Union. Vertical industrial policy is defined as government support of specific firms or industries ('picking winners' or 'supporting losers'). It is measured as state aid granted by Member States to the...

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...

Following a brief review of the rationale for promoting renewable energy sources, this paper compares alternative policies to promote the production of renewable electricity. The focus is on feed-in tariffs (used in Germany, Spain, and France - for instance) and tradable green certificate (TGC)...

The paper critiques current European energy policy. The key market failures are identified and the reasons for intervention set out. In addition to the traditional concerns with monopoly and market failures, the public goods aspects of diversity and security of supply, together with...

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...

We set out to decompose government investment, seeking especially to estimate how much governments in Europe invest in infrastructure in general and transport infrastructure in particular. It is concluded that infrastructure accounts for about one-third of overall government investment in the EU...

This paper discusses alternative ways of defining and measuring the marginal economic cost of public funds and reviews empirical cost estimates - including estimates for EU countries. Moreover, it illustrates how the economic cost of public funds should be accounted for in cost-benefit analyses...

Venture capital is considered to be the most appropriate form of financing for innovative firms in high-tech sectors. We provide an assessment of venture capital looking at the involvement of venture capital with some of Europe's most innovative and successful companies: those listed on Europe's...

This paper re-visits the empirical failure to establish a clear link between R&D efforts and patent counts at the industry level. It is claimed that the 'propensity-to-patent' concept should be split into an 'appropriability propensity' and a 'strategic propensity'. The empirical contribution is...