In response to a series of global economic and geopolitical shocks, many governments have enacted, or are considering enacting, policies to promote the development and growth of industries deemed strategically important. These actions have raised questions about the role of government in markets and revived debates over industrial policy. Industrial policies can attract foreign investment and encourage the development of new technologies. At the same time, however, these policies can also create tensions with trading partners and decrease economic cooperation. Subsidy wars among countries can be very expensive. And industrial policies can be captured by firms and turned into inefficient rents. In light of these varied outcomes, what explains the recent rise in industrial policies? Why do some governments use industrial policies more often than others? What consequences do industrial policies have for politics and economics - both at home and abroad? How does geopolitical competition and conflict affect the use and choice of industrial policies?

This workshop will address these questions and others raised by the growing use of industrial policy.

WEDNESDAY 25 OCTOBER 2023

10am Welcome:  Stephanie Rickard, London School of Economics; Amaney Jamal, Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University (via Zoom)

Session 1: Industrial Policy in the United States

10:15am Aycan Katitas* & Sonal Pandya, “Do Politicians Prioritize Investment Incentives? Evidence from the Great Recession” (Discussant: Todd Tucker)

11:00am Robert Gulotty* & Anton Strezhnev, “The Political Benefits of the Monoculture: Estimating Political Manipulation in the Market Facilitation Program” (Discussant: Erik Voeten)

11:45am Sichen Li, “Technological Interdependence and National Security-Based Investment Restrictions: CFIUS Reviews as a New Industrial Policy Tool” (Discussant: Ethan Kapstein)

Session 2: Motivation and Emulation – China

1:30pm John Minnich, “Scaling the Commanding Heights: The Logic of Technology Transfer Policy in Rising China” (Discussant: Sichen Li)

2:15pm Lee Branstetter, “Picking Winners or Propping Up Losers?: An Empirical Analysis of Chinese Industrial Policy” (Discussant: John Minnich)

3:00pm Stephen Kaplan & Aparna Ravi*, “Banking on the State: The Competitive Advantage of State-led Financing” (Discussant: Nita Rudra)

Roundtable: What We Know and What We Need to Know about Industrial Policy

4pm Chad Bown, Reka Juhasz, Inu Manak, Adam Posen, & Todd Tucker

THURSDAY 26 OCTOBER

Session 3: Learning from the Past

10am Jaedo Choi* & Andrei Levchenko, “The Long-Term Effects of Industrial Policy” (Discussant: Robert Gulotty)

10:45am Charles Hankla, “In Pursuit of Prosperity: Industrial Policy and the Politics of Economic Upgrading” (Discussant: Shanta Devarajan)

11:30am Jonas Meckling*, Jared Finnegan, Phillip Lipscy & Florence Metz, “The Institutional Sources of Economic Transformation: Insulation and Compensation in the Politics of Energy Transitions” (Discussant: Dennis Quinn)

Session 4: Industrial Policy Around the World

12:45pm Bernard Hoekman* & Douglas Nelson, “Trade Policy vs. Industrial Policy: Economics, Institutions and Epistemic Communities” (Discussant: Charles Hankla)

1:30pm Amy Catalinac “Dominance Through Division: Group-Based Clientelism in Japan” (Discussant: Stephen Kaplan)

2:15pm Ishana Ratan, “Does Manufacturing Matter? Forward Linkages and Downstream Growth in the Malaysian Solar Industry” (Discussant: Sarah Bauerle Danzman)

*Presenter