Assistance to industry in West Germany

Abstract

This paper has four aims: First, it surveys the assistance given to individual sectors and industries in West Germany and makes an attempt to estimate its magnitude in terms of nominal and effective rates of protection; in contrast to the previous calculations the estimates presented here deal with protection in a wider context by including all measures of non-tariff assistance and by relating industrial protection to protection given to other parts of the economy. The second section of the paper discusses the objectives of assistance policy from a national and an international welfare point of view. The third section proceeds with a comparative analysis of the impact assistance measures have had on factor incomes and resource allocation among industries. Fourth and finally, some conclusions are drawn with respect to restructuring assistance policy.