Industrial policy beyond the crisis: Regional, national and international perspectives

摘要

Industrial policy has been something of an enigma for mainstream economists. On the one hand it has developed into a field of research in its own right, so much so that it has been designated a separate code in the classification system of the Journal of Economic Literature (L5: Regulation and industrial policy, with sub-codes for Industrial policy; sectoral planning methods (L52) and Government promotion of firms (L53)). On the other hand, industrial policy lacks a universally agreed definition or even delineation; relatedly, it also lacks a clearly identifiable set of policy goals, instruments and institutions. This makes it distinctly different from, say, monetary or fiscal or external trade policies and their analysis.