Getting State Aid Approved by the European Commission: Explaining the Duration of Preliminary Investigations in the State Aid Notification Procedure*
研究了欧盟国家援助通知程序中初步调查时长差异的原因，发现案件层面的政治和管理因素影响时长，而成员国层面因素无显著影响。
Abstract This article aims to explain the variation in duration of preliminary investigations in the state aid notification procedure. While this procedure is guided by objective standards, preliminary investigations result in an overwhelming majority of cases being approved in combination with a large variation in duration. This study explores the explanatory power of political and managerial factors at the member state and state aid case level to account for this variation. Based on multilevel regression analysis of a newly created dataset, results show that both political and managerial factors at the state aid case level affect the duration of preliminary investigations. No evidence was found for member state level factors having an effect.