Europe’s Geoeconomic Predicament
Industrial Policy
The Challenge to Market-Based Governance
Why is industrial policy en vogue in the European Union? Given the EU’s market-making impetus, tilt towards fiscal austerity, and limits to subsidizing state aid, the turn to an active and targeted industrial policy in the last years is surprising. I argue that a declining belief in open markets and economic efficiency as the sole propagators of ‘good’ economic outcomes has mobilized a coalition of firms, business associations, and trade unions to challenge the EU’s market-based governance regime.
Manifestations
This is visible in EU trade policy, now understood in terms of open strategic autonomy, and especially visible in digital and high-tech fields and in the green transition, often discussed under the rubric of the ‘twin transitions’.
Future Research
Post-PhD, I will focus on understanding how the demands for state intervention play out on the ground: can market-making institutions be repurposed for state intervention?
Documenting the EU’s surprising turn to active industrial policy and the challenge to market-based governance regimes.
Research Focus
This research investigates the EU’s evolving approach to state intervention and market governance.