Ebook: State subsidies in the global economy

If free trade is easy and beneficial, why are national governments still subsidizing their industries with varying zeal? Using figures from European Union members, the volume highlights the conditional effects of globalization, asset specificity, and domestic institutions. Far from being impotent, democratic states face politically powerful pressures to continue to shield social actors from the vagaries of the global market.  Read more... Protection for rent -- Perspectives on subsidies and trade protection -- Globalization and state aid -- Asset specificity and the demand for subsidies -- Domestic politics and the supply of subsidies -- Objectives and regions -- Sectors and instruments -- National subsidies in the global economy