resurgence of industrial policies in the age of advanced manufacturing

Abstract

This paper analyses recent industrial policy plans made by five leading countries: China, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom and United States. This is done through the analysis of policy documents, using an original framework. Our analysis reveals that these policies have two main motivations. First, the acknowledgement of new technological opportunities and challenges, that allow not only for higher growth rates and competitiveness, but also for addressing ‘societal challenges’ (persistent socio-environmental problems). Second, the growing understanding that, because of the increasing complexity of innovation, private sector efforts alone are not enough, and a higher level of convergence between actors and institutions is needed. We also identify that the policy structures and proposed instruments of these strategies are quite conventional, which contrasts with the rhetoric of these policies. This reveals that the ‘resurgence’ of industrial policies is yet not a return to the ‘old’ policies of the twentieth century, but a new breed, which is much more cautious of interfering with market mechanisms.

The Renewal of the Debate on Industrial Policy: Limitations and Suggestion for a Normative Typology Based on the Dialogue Between Neo-Schumpeterians and Developmentalists

“…For example, the emblematic American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, approved in the US in 2009. Labrunie, Penna and Kupfer (2020) also highlight the industrial policies issued in Germany in 2014, named the New High-Tech Strategy -Innovations for Germany, and the United Kingdom in 2017, Industrial Strategy. However, it should be noted that China also seeks to exploit the opportunities provided by changes in the techno-productive paradigm to advance and conclude its catching-up process, especially with the Made in China 2025 andChina Standard 2035 policies (CHEN;NAUGHTON, 2016;LEE;.…”

“…Industrial policies started to lose momentum during the economic crises of the mid-1970s, but it was the advance of neoliberal ideas and policies in the 1980s and 1990s-commanded by the US-that was responsible for the decline of active industrial policies. According to Labrunie, Penna and Kupfer (2020), during this period, government action was limited to setting the "rules of the game, " besides sponsoring deregulation and privatization policies. In the academic debate, the prevailing trend turned against industrial policies, associating them with government failures and the predominance of rent-seeking behaviors (NAUDÉ, 2010;RODRIK, 2007).…”