Public support to the European auto industry: An integrated analysis

Public intervention in the automotive industry has a long, global history. In Europe, both, individual member states and the European Union (EU), often allocate public resources to automobile manufacturers through a wide variety of instruments and institutions. This willingness to offer support to the automotive industry was especially evident during the financial and economic crisis of 2009 when this sector was particularly hard hit. Against this backdrop, a recent study funded jointly by ZEW's SEEK Research Programme and the Finance Programme at the University of Leuven outlines and quantifies the different forms that public support to the European auto industry has taken over the past decade.