European Policies on Competition, Trade, and Industry: Conflict and Complementarities

Can industrial, trade and competition policies complement one another? In this major volume, a distinguished group of researchers and policymakers systematically investigates the relationships between the microeconomic policies of competition, trade and industry within the European Union. After an introductory chapter contrasting the optimal mix of targets and instruments with the effective use and interaction of policies that can be observed in the real world, the book addresses the experience of the EU, its institutional framework and the evolving use of instruments. The convergence and divergence of economic prescription and application are revealed through an outstanding set of case studies which focus on the automobile, chemical fibre, steel, telecommunication and pharmaceutical industries. Competition, trade and industrial policies play a central role in the efficiency of any market economy and the rich European experience offers valuable lessons for economists, regulators and policy makers from both inside and outside the union. European Policies on Competition, Trade and Industry offers an authoritative discussion of policy making and enforcement in the EU. The strong combination of analysis with detailed case studies and overviews will ensure that this book will make a pioneering contribution to understanding the development of microeconomic policies in the Union.