Industrial Policies in Europe in Historical Perspective. WWWforEurope Working Paper No. 15

This research paper provides a solid historical overview of European industrial policy during the post-World War II era, extending the time horizon up to the 1990s. Our research focus is the EU 15. Unlike previous publications, this paper outlines the most important characteristics and drivers of European industrial policy in a comparative and transnational perspective in order to provide some conclusions about policy impacts, historical policy continuities and national policy convergence, looking at changing institutional settings especially in transition periods and asking finally how these historical lessons could be fruitful for further research on future effective political action.