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.

Open Access

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.

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