Industrial Policy

Max von Thun writes that Enrico Letta, Mario Draghi, and Emmanuel Macron are right in demanding a new economic vision for the European Union. However, they are wrong to advocate for corporate consolidation as part of the solution. The EU must pursue competition rather than consolidation if it is to create a robust political economy that can take back power from corporate behemoths, deliver growth and jobs to European citizens, and guarantee the future of the European project.

The Biden administration's ambitious place-based industrial policy aims to both revitalize struggling regions and bolster America's strategic economic sectors, but these two goals often conflict. Walter Frick writes that while policies that boost economic prospects in distressed areas may not immediately transform them into innovation hubs, they could unlock the potential of future generations and ultimately contribute to the nation's innovative capacity.

Critics of industrial policy claim that state interventions into the market lead to inefficient subsidies, protectionism, or the “picking of winners.” Kartik Akileswaran and Rohan Sandhu argue that when industrial policy is instead viewed as an iterative, dynamic process between the private and public sectors, and undergirded by the state's capacity to play this role,  it leads to a more sophisticated understanding of industrial policy’s manifold historical manifestations and benefits.

While governments have forged ahead with various industrial policies in areas such as clean energy and semiconductors, we still have much to learn about the historical efficacy of such interventions. Réka Juhász and Claudia Steinwender evaluate the growing literature on nineteenth century industrial policy and possible paths for future research.

Efficiency is out and political economy is in. But what does that imply about making good policy? When Barack Obama was asked about carbon pricing...

Industrial policy was once so out of fashion that it was jokingly called “the policy that shall not be named.” Now it’s back in...

Industrial policy was once so out of fashion that it was jokingly called “the policy that shall not be named.” Now it’s back in...

Industrial policy was once so out of fashion that it was jokingly called “the policy that shall not be named.” Now it’s back in...

Industrial policy was once so out of fashion that it was jokingly called “the policy that shall not be named.” Now it’s back in...

Industrial policy was once so out of fashion that it was jokingly called “the policy that shall not be named.” Now it’s back in...