The ‘husbandry’ state and the tax incentives in the automobile sector

Taking into account longevity of tax incentives in the automobile sector, this paper intends to pursue two consecutive objectives. Firstly, the paper describes the incentives implemented in the last decades were designed to promote the sector’s competitiveness. Secondly, this article presents a qualitative assessment of the role developed by the State in this segment. Based on literature on political economy and regulation, the claim of this research is that tax policies adopted in favor of automobile sector have favored more a “husbandry” State, rather than a “midwifery” one. In other words, the public policies established were typically oriented to protect a previous defined segment, instead of stimulating new competences and capabilities.

KEYWORDS:
Tax incentives; automobile sector; state; regulation; economic development; industrial policy; WTO