Abstract:

The concept of State intervention in economic processes does not imply the replacement of the market mechanism with an alternative State mechanism; rather, it entails the limitation of market failures, which are defined as inefficient market allocation of resources. The State should assume responsibility for those tasks and functions that the market either does not perform at all or performs inefficiently. State aid is therefore considered to be one of the instruments of state interventionism in the economy. The objective of this article is to present the evolution of economic thought on the admissibility of State aid as an instrument of intervention in the market mechanism.