Intangible assets are of growing importance to corporate competitiveness and economic performance. They include R&D, human capital, innovation in products and in organisation, trademarks and patents, networking and software. This path-breaking book provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of intangible investment and its effect on public policy in Europe. The authors find that the growing importance of intangibles is transforming the direction of public policies in Europe, particularly industrial, R&D, competition and trade policies. They conclude that government policies must recognise the fact that intangible investment is becoming the key element in bringing about durable growth and accord at least the same priority to intangible factors as to physical investment. This work should be essential reading for students interested in this new field of economic analysis, national and international policymakers, and industrialists involved in the non-physical economy.

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.