A Green Entrepreneurial State?

Exploring the Pitfalls of Green Deals
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-3-032-15511-5
Verlag: Springer

Buch, Englisch, Band 49, 302 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 639 g

Reihe: International Studies in Entrepreneurship

This open access book offers a critical examination of large-scale, state-led green industrial policies, with a particular focus on the European Union. Drawing on empirical evidence from sectors such as ethanol, hydrogen, wind power, and biogas, it reveals how well-intentioned “Green Deals” often result in speculative investment bubbles—termed “green bubbles”—rather than sustainable industrial transformation. Contributors analyze the systemic risks of mission-oriented policies that prioritize political goals over technological neutrality and economic viability. The volume highlights the consequences of overinvestment, technological lock-in, and politicized capitalism, while proposing more evidence-based, innovation-driven alternatives. It is an essential resource for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to understand and improve the design of green industrial strategies.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Henrekson, Magnus

Sandström, Christian

Stenkula, Mikael

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Zentralregierung
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Wirtschaftspolitik, politische Ökonomie
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Volkswirtschaftslehre Allgemein
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Betriebswirtschaft Management Unternehmensführung

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Part I: Introductory Essay.- The Pitfalls of Green Deals: Introduction and Synthesis.- Part II: Theoretical Perspectives Green Deals around the World.- The Incoherence of Modest Industrial Policy.- Raiders of the Entrepreneurial State: A Baptist and Bootlegger Analysis.- Behavioral Political Economy and Environmental Policy: Explaining Persistent Deviations from Efficient Policies.- Part III Empirical Evidence.- Exploring Failed Green Innovation Policy: The Rise and Fall of Ethanol Cars in Sweden 2003–2015.- The German Energiewende: A Green Deal Template or Planned Failure?.- In Pursuit of the Green Transition—Electricity at Any Cost?.- Green Industrial Megaprojects: A Welfare Economics Perspective.- HYBRIT: A Hubristic Hydrogen-Based Steel Project.- Explaining Northvolt’s Bankruptcy and the Dilemma of Green Deals.- The Planetary Diet: An Illusory Recipe.- Italy’s Superbonus and the Capture of Climate Policy by Modern Monetary Theory.- Part IV: Alternative Paths.- A Silent Transition: Growth with Less Environmental Weight.- uclear Technology Transition towards SMR and Generation-IV.- State-ification” of the Entrepreneur—or “Entrepreneurialization” of the State? How Singapore Challenges both Mazzucato and Her Critics.

Über Autor(innen)

Magnus Henrekson is Professor of Economics and Senior Research Fellow at the Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN) in Stockholm, Sweden. He served as CEO of IFN for 15 years until 2020. Prior to that, he held the Jacob Wallenberg Research Chair in the Department of Economics at the Stockholm School of Economics. His research focuses on entrepreneurship economics and the institutional determinants of the business climate.

Christian Sandström is Associate Professor at Linnaeus University, Sweden, and an editorial writer for Affärsvärlden. His research explores innovation policy and the interplay between technological and institutional change.

Mikael Stenkula is Associate Professor of Economics and holds a PhD from the School of Economics and Management at Lund University, Sweden. He joined the Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN) in 2005. His primary research area is entrepreneurship economics.