Ridefinire l’interesse economico nazionale. La regolazione dei diritti di proprietà industriale come politica pubblica

How do States define and protect their «strategic» industries? Aftermore than three decades since the waves of privatization begun in Europe, Statesdid not entirely give up their willingness and capacity to define some economic sectorsas strategic. Instead, they have devised strategies to protect industries operatingin such sectors, either limiting the possibility of foreign acquisitions or regulatinghow companies acquired by foreigner entities should operate. Yet, analyses of howEuropean states define such interests and vigilate over them are scarce. This articleidentifies a specific policy domain consisting in the regulation of property rights andmore specifically in the powers enabling governments to define strategic industriesand interfere in the transactions regarding them. Empirically, the paper providesevidence on the varieties of institutional arrangements and policy strategies emerged in the four largest economies of the region such as France, Germany, Italy and theUnited Kingdom. Two macro-patterns seem to emerge: on the one hand, the scopeof state regulation of France and Italy has been broad and the policy tools moreintrusive than in Germany and the UK. On the other hand, we found that agencymatters in determining specific policy outcomes.