Regulating fast, disrupting slow? How government and business elites in Germany and France are coordinating industrial policy measures for autonomous driving

Autonomous driving has triggered a global tech race in which autonomous driving will play a major role in determining which countries take the economic lead in artificial intelligence. However, the industrial policy strategies of governments and business elites in creating new regulations for autonomous driving are under-researched. This paper therefore examines the political economy of autonomous driving in Germany and France using the analytical categories of growth model theory and comparative political economy. Thereby, it seeks to show how growth models, ideas and institutions influence the concrete strategies of state and business elites in regulating autonomous vehicles. Based on interviews with representatives from industry and politics, the paper offers a way to open the black box of state and business coordination in Germany and France and to identify the causal mechanisms that lead to the specific characteristics of autonomous driving regulations in Germany and France.