IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jcmkts/v59y2021i5p1033-1050.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Prize of Governance. How the European Union Uses Symbolic Distinctions to Mobilize Society and Foster Competitiveness

Author

Listed:
  • François Foret
  • Jana Vargovčíková

Abstract

Since its origins, the European Union (EU) has increasingly relied on prizes to highlight the values and principles channelling European integration. In the last two decades, such symbolic tools of governance have shifted away from the kind of distinctions granted by elites to elites and aiming to honour prominent figures offered as role models mainly in the field of identity, memory and cultural policies. In an increasingly market‐oriented Europe, prizes are used as incentives and disciplining instruments to enhance self‐compliance of economic and social actors with an ethos of competitiveness and innovation. They work as a magnifying glass of the evolution of the EU towards a government at distance through policy instruments. The focus is on four areas where prizes have multiplied since the 2000s: research and innovation, economic governance, territorial and environmental policies, and communication policies. The article draws on a qualitative analysis of a corpus of ninety‐one prizes, institutional documentation, parliamentary debates and media controversies related to prizes.

Suggested Citation

  • François Foret & Jana Vargovčíková, 2021. "The Prize of Governance. How the European Union Uses Symbolic Distinctions to Mobilize Society and Foster Competitiveness," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(5), pages 1033-1050, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:59:y:2021:i:5:p:1033-1050
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.13163
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13163
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jcms.13163?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nancy Gallini & Suzanne Scotchmer, 2002. "Intellectual Property: When Is It the Best Incentive System?," NBER Chapters, in: Innovation Policy and the Economy, Volume 2, pages 51-78, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Khan, B. Zorina, 2015. "Inventing Prizes: A Historical Perspective on Innovation Awards and Technology Policy," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 89(4), pages 631-660, January.
    3. Béatrice Touchelay & Isabelle Bruno & Florence Jany-Catrice, 2016. "The Social Sciences of Quantification. From Politics of Large Numbers to Target-Driven Policies," Post-Print hal-01721227, HAL.
    4. Bernard Jullien & Andy Smith, 2014. "The EU's Government of Industries: Markets, institutions and politics," Post-Print halshs-01010842, HAL.
    5. Bernard Jullien & A. Smith, 2014. "The EU's government of industries. Markets, institutions and politics," Post-Print hal-03117888, HAL.
    6. Fligstein, Neil, 2009. "Euroclash: The EU, European Identity, and the Future of Europe," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199580859.
    7. Daniel Kinderman, 2013. "Corporate Social Responsibility in the EU, 1993–2013: Institutional Ambiguity, Economic Crises, Business Legitimacy and Bureaucratic Politics," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 701-720, July.
    8. B. Zorina Khan, 2015. "Inventing Prizes: A Historical Perspective on Innovation Awards and Technology Policy," NBER Working Papers 21375, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. B. Zorina Khan, 2017. "Prestige and Profit: The Royal Society of Arts and Incentives for Innovation, 1750-1850," NBER Working Papers 23042, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Florian Englmaier & Stefan Grimm & Dominik Grothe & David Schindler & Simeon Schudy, 2024. "The Efficacy of Tournaments for Nonroutine Team Tasks," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(4), pages 921-948.
    3. Aaron Graham, 2020. "Patents and invention in Jamaica and the British Atlantic before 1857," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 73(4), pages 940-963, November.
    4. Danzer, Alexander M. & Danzer, Natalia & Feuerbaum, Carsten, 2023. "Military Spending and Innovation: Learning from 19th Century World Fair Exhibition Data," IZA Discussion Papers 16034, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Stephen D Billington & Alan J Hanna, 2021. "That’s classified! Inventing a new patent taxonomy [Text matching to measure patent similarity]," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 30(3), pages 678-705.
    6. Antonello Cammarano & Vincenzo Varriale & Francesca Michelino & Mauro Caputo, 2022. "Open and Crowd-Based Platforms: Impact on Organizational and Market Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-26, February.
    7. B. Zorina Khan, 2017. "Designing Women: Consumer Goods Innovations in Britain, France and the United States, 1750-1900," NBER Working Papers 23086, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Domini, Giacomo, 2022. "Patterns of specialization and economic complexity through the lens of universal exhibitions, 1855-1900," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    9. Czarnitzki, Dirk & Hünermund, Paul & Moshgbar, Nima, 2020. "Public Procurement of Innovation: Evidence from a German Legislative Reform," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    10. Saiz, Patricio & Amengual, Rafael, 2016. "Knowledge Disclosure, Patent Management, and the Four-Stroke Engine Business," Working Papers in Economic History 2016/02, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), Department of Economic Analysis (Economic Theory and Economic History).
    11. David S. Abrams & Ufuk Akcigit & Gokhan Oz & Jeremy G. Pearce, 2019. "The Patent Troll: Benign Middleman or Stick-Up Artist?," NBER Working Papers 25713, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Galasso, Alberto, 2020. "Rewards versus intellectual property rights when commitment is limited," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 397-411.
    13. Li, Yunjian & Chen, Jiawen & Li, Li & Huang, Xiaojun, 2024. "Government innovation awards, innovation funds acquisition and enterprise innovation," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 846-864.
    14. Kyle, Margaret K., 2022. "Incentives for pharmaceutical innovation: What’s working, what’s lacking," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    15. B. Zorina Khan, 2024. "‘A new way by her invented’: Women inventors and technological innovation in Britain, 1800–1930," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 77(3), pages 928-952, August.
    16. Bo Chen & Christophe Midler & Joël Ruet, 2018. "Le développement du véhicule électrique en Chine : réalités du marché et dynamiques réglementaires," Post-Print hal-03085769, HAL.
    17. Giacomo Domini, 2019. "Exhibitions, patents, and innovation in the early twentieth century: evidence from the Turin 1911 International Exhibition," LEM Papers Series 2019/04, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    18. Ayhan, Fatih & Elal, Onuray, 2023. "The IMPACTS of technological change on employment: Evidence from OECD countries with panel data analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    19. Tuomas Takalo, 2012. "Rationales and Instruments for Public Innovation Policies," Journal of Reviews on Global Economics, Lifescience Global, vol. 1, pages 157-167.
    20. Gauguier, Jean-Jacques, 2009. "L’industrialisation de l’Open Source," Economics Thesis from University Paris Dauphine, Paris Dauphine University, number 123456789/4388 edited by Toledano, Joëlle.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:59:y:2021:i:5:p:1033-1050. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0021-9886 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.