1992 and European Industrial Structure

Abstract

It is not difficult to understand why a large number of people appear to get rather excited by the mere mention of 1992. Europe, it is widely agreed, has (and has, for too long, had) an industrial performance problem, and the gamut of policies associated with 1992 are seen as a possible solution to a pressing concern. They are, moreover, a solution that is consistent with the aspirations embodied in the 1957 Treaty of Rome, and, indeed, are seen by many as the last step in what has been a long path of realisation. Better still, they are easy to understand and are apparently easy to implement (in principle at least). Finally, their spirit is wholly in keeping with the adulation of free market processes which currently passes for policy thinking in many European capitals, and, yet, despite this, both the plain man and the industrial policy enthusiast can agree that the 1992 policies are, on the whole, both reasonable and sensible. For a Europe that feels badly in need of a success, 1992 has all the promise of the first day of spring.