The Dutch government assists entrepreneurs in a variety of ways, ranging from giving money to making it easier. If your idea meets the criteria for one of the subsidy programmes you can apply to the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) for a grant.
Subsidies are the government’s support of certain industries or activities that may not be profitable without such support. Subsidies are typically provided to help struggling industries and to encourage new developments or to promote specific policies or social benefits. They can be financially successful but they are costly to other groups (for instance food subsidies help farmers, but raises prices for consumers) They may also fail economically, but achieve objectives in terms of culture and political.
Government subsidies can be in a variety of forms. They include grants, tax breaks and rebates in addition to direct cash payments made to suppliers or customers. They can also be indirect as well, such as road tax that is paid by all motorists, not just those who use roads or railway access charges that do not just apply to passenger trains.
The advocates of subsidy programs claim that they can boost economic efficiency by ensuring protection from competition from outside sources or promoting domestic production. They also serve to combat market failures, like externalities or information imbalances. However, critics argue that these policies have negative consequences, ranging from inequality to corruption and that they block more equitable and efficient public spending. They also can create unjust incentives. A company that receives a government subsidy might be enticed to make a donation to politicians. This could result in “regulatory capture” and rent-seeking.