Every year, up to $45 billion are transferred from public budgets to manufacturing industry through support programs in OECD countries. Understanding the significance of such support is essential if we are to understand the role it plays in structural adjustment strategies and the side effects it can have on trade, competitiveness, and investment.
This book provides the first comprehensive review of public support to industry. It uses a unique set of data covering 25 countries to monitor, analyze, and evaluate support policies at both the international and the national level. It provides an in-depth analysis of support programs through 17 case studies focusing on individual countries. Special attention is also given to support for industrial R&D and for physical and intangible investment.
This book shows that, in nearly all OECD countries, efforts must be made to limit the trade distortions that subsidies can produce and to contain public spending on industry support programs. It is an invaluable analytical tool that will help us to meet these challenges.
