Industrial policy is making a comeback in the United States. It is more urgent than ever to understand how and whether industrial policy has worked to strengthen the US economy. This study analyzes and scores 18 US industrial policy episodes implemented between 1970 and 2020, in an effort to assess what went right and what went wrong—and how the current initiatives might fare. The Peterson Institute for International Economics gratefully acknowledges the support of the Koch Foundation for this project.

Industrial policy has long been regarded as a strategy to encourage sector-, industry-, or economy-wide development by the state. It has been central to competitiveness, catching up, and structural change in both advanced and developing countries. It has also been one of the most contested perspectives, reflecting ideologically inflected debates and shifts in prevailing ideas. There has lately been a renewed interest in industrial policy in academic circles and international policy dialogues, prompted by the weak outcomes of policies pursued by many developing countries under the direction of the Washington Consensus (and its descendants), the slow economic recovery of many advanced economies after the 2008 global financial crisis, and mounting anxieties about the national consequences of globalization. The Oxford Handbook of Industrial Policy presents a comprehensive review of and a novel approach to the conceptual and theoretical foundations of industrial policy. The Handbook also presents analytical perspectives on how industrial policy connects to broader issues of development strategy, macro-economic policies, infrastructure development, human capital, and political economy. By combining historical and theoretical perspectives, and integrating conceptual issues with empirical evidence drawn from advanced, emerging, and developing countries, The Handbook offers valuable lessons and policy insights to policymakers, practitioners and researchers on developing productive transformation, technological capabilities, and international competitiveness. It addresses pressing issues including climate change, the gendered dimensions of industrial policy, global governance, and technical change. Written by leading international thinkers on the subject, the volume pulls together different perspectives and schools of thought from neo-classical to structuralist development economists to discuss and highlight the adaptation of industrial policy in an ever-changing socio-economic and political landscape.

What are the underlying rationales for industrial policy? Does empirical evidence support the use of industrial policy for correcting market failures that plague the process of industrialization? To address these questions, the authors provide a critical survey of the analytical literature on industrial policy. They also review some recent industry successes and argue that only a limited role was played by public interventions. Moreover, the recent ascendance of international industrial networks, which dominate the sectors in which less developed countries have in the past had considerable success, implies a further limitation on the potential role of industrial policies as traditionally understood. Overall, there appears to be little empirical support for an activist government policy even though market failures exist that can, in principle, justify the use of industrial policy.

Industrial policy, once relegated to resource allocation, technological improvements, and the modernization of industries, should be treated as a serious component of sustainability and developmental economics. A rich set of complimentary institutions, shared behavioral norms, and public policies have sustained economic growth from Britain's industrial revolution onwards. This volume revisits the role of industrial policy in the success of these strategies and what it can offer developed and developing economies today. Featuring essays from experts invested in the expansion of industrial policies, topics discussed include the most effective use of industrial policies in learning economies, development finance, and promoting investment in regional and global contexts. Also included are in-depth case studies of Japan and India's experience with industrial policy in the banking and private sector. One essay revisits the theoretical and conceptual foundations of industrial policy from a structural economics perspective and another describes the models, packages, and transformation cycles that constitute a variety of approaches to implementation. The collection concludes with industrial strategies for facilitating quality growth, realizing more sustainable manufacturing development, and encouraging countries to industrialize around their natural resources.

"Policy-makers often call for expanding public spending on infrastructure, which includes a broad range of investments from roads and bridges to digital networks that will expand access to high-speed broadband. Some point to near-term macro-economic benefits and job creation, others focus on long-term effects on productivity and economic growth. This volume explores the links between infrastructure spending and economic outcomes, as well as key economic issues in the funding and management of infrastructure projects. It draws together research studies that describe the short-run stimulus effects of infrastructure spending, develop new estimates of the stock of U.S. infrastructure capital, and explore the incentive aspects of public-private partnerships (PPPs). A salient issue is the treatment of risk in evaluating publicly-funded infrastructure projects and in connection with PPPs. The goal of the volume is to provide a reference for researchers seeking to expand research on infrastructure issues, and for policy-makers tasked with determining the appropriate level of infrastructure spending"--

This book assesses developmental experience in different countries as well as British expansion following the industrial revolution from a developmental perspective. It explains why some nations are rich and others are poor, and discusses how manufacturing made economies flourish and spur economic development. It explains how today’s governments can design and implement industrial policy, and how they can determine economically strategic sectors to break out of Low and Middle Income Traps. Closely linked to global trade and (im)balances, industrialization was never an accident. Industrialization explains how some countries experience export-led growth and others import-led slowdowns. Many confuse industrialization with the construction of factory buildings rather than a capacity and skill building process through certain stages. Industrial policy helps countries advance through those stages. Explaining technical concepts in understandable terms, the book discusses the capacity and limits of the developmental state in industrialization and in general in economic development, demonstrating how picking-the-winner type focused industrial policy has worked in different countries. It also discusses how industrial policy and science, technology and innovation policies should be sequenced for best results.

The main objective of this book has been to carry out research into the definition of industrial policy and its goals; to evaluate previously-introduced policies and instruments; and to identify the future challenges for and features of a modern EU industrial policy. A modern industrial policy is seen as a non-traditional policy towards the industrial sector, based not necessarily on only the elimination of market failures (within the sectoral and/or horizontal approaches), but rather on the expanding the scope of industrial economic activities within the framework of both the pre- and post-fabrication stages. The book targets three market segments: academics; policy and decision-makers at the EU, national and regional level, as well as business practitioners. It includes a wide-ranging analysis of different spheres of industrial policies conducted within the European Union, making it of interest to an international audience. Each chapter also offers detailed and valuable comments, as well as conclusions that can be generally applied, ensuring the book’s universality. The book presents the results of a research project conducted in the Collegium of World Economy at the Warsaw School of Economics.