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Evans, Lowri; Nyssens, Harold --- "Economics in State Aid: Soon as Routine as Dentistry?" [2010] ELECD 371; in Mateus, M. Abel; Moreira, Teresa (eds), "Competition Law and Economics" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Book Title: Competition Law and Economics

Editor(s): Mateus, M. Abel; Moreira, Teresa

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848449992

Section: Chapter 23

Section Title: Economics in State Aid: Soon as Routine as Dentistry?

Author(s): Evans, Lowri; Nyssens, Harold

Number of pages: 19

Extract:

23. Economics in state aid: soon as
routine as dentistry?
Lowri Evans and Harold Nyssens1

I INTRODUCTION

John Keynes famously hoped ­ a hope famous at least amongst economists
­ that economics would one day become as humble and routine as den-
tistry. As is well known, all this has not become reality. However, in the
Commission, we are on the march to make economic analysis as much a
routine in the analysis of state aid cases as it is already in the other main
areas of competition policy, namely merger control and antitrust policy.
The Commission has embarked, since 2005, on a sustained effort
towards a renewed state aid policy. The four pillars of the State Aid
Action Plan2 are by now well known:

­ less and better targeted state aid ­ a refined economic approach, as a
means to achieve `less and better targeted state aid';
­ more effective and predictable rules and enforcement;
­ a shared responsibility between the Commission and Member States.

There has been quite some work done and there is still work in progress
on all these fronts. Most recently, the Commission has adopted guid-
ance documents in order to outline how it will realize in depth economic
analysis of large training aid, social aid cases as well as the criteria to


1 The views expressed are personal to the authors and do not necessarily reflect

those of the European Commission. The authors would like warmly to thank
Vincent Verouden and Kevin Coates for assisting them in preparing this chapter.
...