European Chips Act

Question A:

Given the centrality of semiconductors to the manufacturing of many products, securing reliable supplies should be a key strategic objective of EU and national policy.

Responses weighted by each expert's confidence

Question B:

Europe’s small role in global semiconductor production is a direct result of insufficient private investment in high-tech innovation.

Responses weighted by each expert's confidence

Question C:

Public support at EU and national level for investment along the value chain for semiconductors, including production, would be the most effective way to ensure security of supply.

Responses weighted by each expert's confidence

Question A Participant Responses

Participant University Vote Confidence Bio/Vote History
Allen
Franklin Allen
Imperial College London
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Given the current geopolitical situation, having reliable supplies is becoming more and more important.
Antras
Pol Antras
Harvard
Strongly Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
To be clear, "centrality" does NOT necessarily mean that industries should be subsidized, but "upstreamness" typically does.
-see background information here
-see background information here
Bandiera
Oriana Bandiera
London School of Economics
Uncertain
2
Bio/Vote History
Blanchard
Olivier Blanchard
Peterson Institute
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Bloom
Nicholas Bloom
Stanford
Disagree
10
Bio/Vote History
This is a free market decision - you could say any product from yoghurt to pipes to bricks are central. No Soviet central planning.
Blundell
Richard William Blundell
University College London Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Carletti
Elena Carletti
Bocconi
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
Danthine
Jean-Pierre Danthine
Paris School of Economics
Strongly Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
De Grauwe
Paul De Grauwe
LSE
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Eeckhout
Jan Eeckhout
UPF Barcelona
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Fehr
Ernst Fehr
Universität Zurich
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
Freixas
Xavier Freixas
Barcelona GSE
Strongly Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Fuchs-Schündeln
Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln
Goethe-Universität Frankfurt Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Galí
Jordi Galí
Barcelona GSE
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Giavazzi
Francesco Giavazzi
Bocconi Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Griffith
Rachel Griffith
University of Manchester
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
I'm not sure what the market failure is that requires govenment intervention
Guerrieri
Veronica Guerrieri
Chicago Booth
Uncertain
7
Bio/Vote History
Guiso
Luigi Guiso
Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Guriev
Sergei Guriev
Sciences Po
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Honohan
Patrick Honohan
Trinity College Dublin
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
More a matter for EU policy than for individual member states
Javorcik
Beata Javorcik
University of Oxford Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Krahnen
Jan Pieter Krahnen
Goethe University Frankfurt
Agree
1
Bio/Vote History
I interpret the statement in a general way: policy should provide the legal/judicial backup for the fulfillment of private contracts.
Kőszegi
Botond Kőszegi
Central European University Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
La Ferrara
Eliana La Ferrara
Harvard Kennedy Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Leuz
Christian Leuz
Chicago Booth
Agree
2
Bio/Vote History
Mayer
Thierry Mayer
Sciences-Po
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Meghir
Costas Meghir
Yale
Strongly Agree
9
Bio/Vote History
Pagano
Marco Pagano
Università di Napoli Federico II
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Pastor
Lubos Pastor
Chicago Booth
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
Persson
Torsten Persson
Stockholm University Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Pissarides
Christopher Pissarides
London School of Economics and Political Science
Strongly Agree
9
Bio/Vote History
We are likely to reply more on them. They will be as important as food
Portes
Richard Portes
London Business School
Disagree
4
Bio/Vote History
Prendergast
Canice Prendergast
Chicago Booth
Uncertain
7
Bio/Vote History
Propper
Carol Propper
Imperial College London
Uncertain
2
Bio/Vote History
Rasul
Imran Rasul
University College London
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Reichlin
Lucrezia Reichlin
London Business School
Agree
1
Bio/Vote History
Reis
Ricardo Reis
London School of Economics
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
Repullo
Rafael Repullo
CEMFI
Agree
2
Bio/Vote History
Rey
Hélène Rey
London Business School Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Schoar
Antoinette Schoar
MIT
Uncertain
6
Bio/Vote History
Storesletten
Kjetil Storesletten
University of Minnesota
Uncertain
2
Bio/Vote History
Sturm
Daniel Sturm
London School of Economics
Disagree
4
Bio/Vote History
Unclear that recent shortages would have been mitigated if there was more production in Europe.
Van Reenen
John Van Reenen
LSE
Disagree
6
Bio/Vote History
Vickers
John Vickers
Oxford
Agree
4
Bio/Vote History
Hard to disagree but beware possible protectionist undertones of "strategic objective"
Voth
Hans-Joachim Voth
University of Zurich
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Whelan
Karl Whelan
University College Dublin
Disagree
5
Bio/Vote History
Lots of items are central to production chains. We can't expect the state to secure supplies of all of them.
Wyplosz
Charles Wyplosz
The Graduate Institute Geneva
Uncertain
2
Bio/Vote History
It should be an objective of businesses: Not sure what is the market failure here. Externalities, maybe. (This is far outside my knowledge.)
Zilibotti
Fabrizio Zilibotti
Yale University Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History

Question B Participant Responses

Participant University Vote Confidence Bio/Vote History
Allen
Franklin Allen
Imperial College London
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
It's a very interesting question why Europe lacks tech firms. Lack of private angel financing and venture capital seems to play a role.
Antras
Pol Antras
Harvard
Uncertain
3
Bio/Vote History
Bandiera
Oriana Bandiera
London School of Economics
Disagree
4
Bio/Vote History
Blanchard
Olivier Blanchard
Peterson Institute
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
Bloom
Nicholas Bloom
Stanford
Uncertain
8
Bio/Vote History
This depends on scientific research, demand, skills etc so not possible to answer this with confidence without good data.
Blundell
Richard William Blundell
University College London Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Carletti
Elena Carletti
Bocconi
Uncertain
3
Bio/Vote History
Danthine
Jean-Pierre Danthine
Paris School of Economics
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
De Grauwe
Paul De Grauwe
LSE
Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
Eeckhout
Jan Eeckhout
UPF Barcelona
Uncertain
6
Bio/Vote History
Fehr
Ernst Fehr
Universität Zurich
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
Freixas
Xavier Freixas
Barcelona GSE
Strongly Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Fuchs-Schündeln
Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln
Goethe-Universität Frankfurt Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Galí
Jordi Galí
Barcelona GSE
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Giavazzi
Francesco Giavazzi
Bocconi Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Griffith
Rachel Griffith
University of Manchester
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
Guerrieri
Veronica Guerrieri
Chicago Booth
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
Guiso
Luigi Guiso
Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Guriev
Sergei Guriev
Sciences Po
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Honohan
Patrick Honohan
Trinity College Dublin
Disagree
5
Bio/Vote History
More a consequence of confidence in globalization of production. Perhaps now misplaced given geopolitical shifts.
Javorcik
Beata Javorcik
University of Oxford Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Krahnen
Jan Pieter Krahnen
Goethe University Frankfurt
Disagree
2
Bio/Vote History
There is specialization, and there may be better fields for Europe to specialize in, given path dependency of industrial development.
Kőszegi
Botond Kőszegi
Central European University Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
La Ferrara
Eliana La Ferrara
Harvard Kennedy Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Leuz
Christian Leuz
Chicago Booth
Uncertain
2
Bio/Vote History
Little doubt that investment has been insufficient but less clear if this was the only or decisive factor
-see background information here
Mayer
Thierry Mayer
Sciences-Po
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
Meghir
Costas Meghir
Yale
Agree
9
Bio/Vote History
Pagano
Marco Pagano
Università di Napoli Federico II
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Pastor
Lubos Pastor
Chicago Booth
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
Persson
Torsten Persson
Stockholm University Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Pissarides
Christopher Pissarides
London School of Economics and Political Science
Disagree
8
Bio/Vote History
That's a tautology, the key is why has there being such low investment in high tech?
Portes
Richard Portes
London Business School
Strongly Disagree
4
Bio/Vote History
Prendergast
Canice Prendergast
Chicago Booth
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Propper
Carol Propper
Imperial College London
Uncertain
1
Bio/Vote History
Rasul
Imran Rasul
University College London
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
Reichlin
Lucrezia Reichlin
London Business School
Agree
2
Bio/Vote History
Reis
Ricardo Reis
London School of Economics
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
Repullo
Rafael Repullo
CEMFI
Agree
2
Bio/Vote History
Rey
Hélène Rey
London Business School Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Schoar
Antoinette Schoar
MIT
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
direction of causality is not clear. it is possible that insufficient investment in higher education and engineering is the catalyst
Storesletten
Kjetil Storesletten
University of Minnesota
Uncertain
2
Bio/Vote History
Sturm
Daniel Sturm
London School of Economics
Disagree
4
Bio/Vote History
Van Reenen
John Van Reenen
LSE
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Vickers
John Vickers
Oxford
Uncertain
4
Bio/Vote History
Maybe comparative advantage lies elsewhere
Voth
Hans-Joachim Voth
University of Zurich
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
Whelan
Karl Whelan
University College Dublin
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
Hard to know what the optimal amount of high-tech innovation is. It may be better for Silicon Valley to do tech and EU does something else.
Wyplosz
Charles Wyplosz
The Graduate Institute Geneva
Disagree
1
Bio/Vote History
If so, why don't firms invest? This is the interesting question for me.
Zilibotti
Fabrizio Zilibotti
Yale University Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History

Question C Participant Responses

Participant University Vote Confidence Bio/Vote History
Allen
Franklin Allen
Imperial College London
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
This is an important question. This seems to play a role in China but not in the US. It's not clear what's best for Europe.
Antras
Pol Antras
Harvard
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
If the alternative is an import tariff on semiconductors, absolutely, a domestic subsidy is a better tool. Tariffs on inputs are a bad idea.
-see background information here
Bandiera
Oriana Bandiera
London School of Economics
Uncertain
3
Bio/Vote History
Blanchard
Olivier Blanchard
Peterson Institute
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
private firms have an incentive to do this on their own.
Bloom
Nicholas Bloom
Stanford
Disagree
8
Bio/Vote History
Governments should only intervene in markets in the case of pressing market failures. This is not one.
Blundell
Richard William Blundell
University College London Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Carletti
Elena Carletti
Bocconi
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
Danthine
Jean-Pierre Danthine
Paris School of Economics
Uncertain
3
Bio/Vote History
De Grauwe
Paul De Grauwe
LSE
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Eeckhout
Jan Eeckhout
UPF Barcelona
Uncertain
6
Bio/Vote History
Fehr
Ernst Fehr
Universität Zurich
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
Freixas
Xavier Freixas
Barcelona GSE
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
Fuchs-Schündeln
Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln
Goethe-Universität Frankfurt Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Galí
Jordi Galí
Barcelona GSE
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Giavazzi
Francesco Giavazzi
Bocconi Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Griffith
Rachel Griffith
University of Manchester
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
Again, not sure what the market failure is that requires government intervention
Guerrieri
Veronica Guerrieri
Chicago Booth
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
Guiso
Luigi Guiso
Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Guriev
Sergei Guriev
Sciences Po
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
Honohan
Patrick Honohan
Trinity College Dublin
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
If this means subsidies or protective tariffs, probably not.
Javorcik
Beata Javorcik
University of Oxford Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Krahnen
Jan Pieter Krahnen
Goethe University Frankfurt
Disagree
4
Bio/Vote History
Open markets and encouraging supplier diversification are at least as good.
Kőszegi
Botond Kőszegi
Central European University Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
La Ferrara
Eliana La Ferrara
Harvard Kennedy Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Leuz
Christian Leuz
Chicago Booth
Uncertain
2
Bio/Vote History
Not sure it is the most effective or only way, but it is clear that govt support played huge role in Taiwan and South Korea.
Mayer
Thierry Mayer
Sciences-Po
Uncertain
6
Bio/Vote History
Meghir
Costas Meghir
Yale
Uncertain
7
Bio/Vote History
Pagano
Marco Pagano
Università di Napoli Federico II
Uncertain
6
Bio/Vote History
Pastor
Lubos Pastor
Chicago Booth
Uncertain
3
Bio/Vote History
Persson
Torsten Persson
Stockholm University Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Pissarides
Christopher Pissarides
London School of Economics and Political Science
Strongly Agree
10
Bio/Vote History
Growth with European characteristics. That's how we do it in Europe too many positive externalities to leave it to the private sector
Portes
Richard Portes
London Business School
Disagree
4
Bio/Vote History
Prendergast
Canice Prendergast
Chicago Booth
Uncertain
8
Bio/Vote History
Propper
Carol Propper
Imperial College London
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
Rasul
Imran Rasul
University College London
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
Reichlin
Lucrezia Reichlin
London Business School
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
Reis
Ricardo Reis
London School of Economics
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
Repullo
Rafael Repullo
CEMFI
Uncertain
4
Bio/Vote History
Rey
Hélène Rey
London Business School Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Schoar
Antoinette Schoar
MIT
Uncertain
6
Bio/Vote History
Storesletten
Kjetil Storesletten
University of Minnesota
Uncertain
2
Bio/Vote History
Sturm
Daniel Sturm
London School of Economics
Disagree
4
Bio/Vote History
Picking winners tends to be hard for governments and they should concentrate on providing good regulation.
Van Reenen
John Van Reenen
LSE
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
Vickers
John Vickers
Oxford
Disagree
4
Bio/Vote History
A wider international approach would be better than striving for self-sufficiency
Voth
Hans-Joachim Voth
University of Zurich
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
Whelan
Karl Whelan
University College Dublin
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
You could imagine various ways this could be done, including "strategic" stockpiles of chips. But none of them seem a good idea.
Wyplosz
Charles Wyplosz
The Graduate Institute Geneva
Disagree
1
Bio/Vote History
I don't know but to me it sounds like protectionism to hide bad policies elsewhere.
Zilibotti
Fabrizio Zilibotti
Yale University Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History