Industrial Policy Conference

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?

The conference was hosted by Princeton University and took place in Washington D.C. on October 25-26, 2023.

Post-Conference Report

Schedule

Wed 25 October

10:15am Session 1: Industrial Policy in the United States

  1:30pm Session 2: Motivation and Emulation – China

4pm Roundtable

Thurs 26 October 

10am  Session 3: Learning from the Past - Historic Examples of Industrial Policy

12:45pm Session 4: Industrial Policy Around the World

Participants

Chad Bown (PIIE)

Lee Branstetter (Carnegie Mellon University)

Amy Catalinac (New York University)

Jaedo Choi (Federal Reserve Board)

Shanta Devarajan (Georgetown University)

Robert Gulotty (University of Chicago)

Charles Hankla (Georgia State University)

Bernard Hoekman  (EUI)

Reka Juhasz (University of British Columbia) 

Stephen Kaplan (George Washington University)

Aycan Katitas (Carnegie Mellon University)

Sichen Li (University of California San Diego)

Inu Manak (Council on Foreign Relations)

Jonas Meckling (University of California, Berkeley)

Helen Milner (Princeton)

John Minnich  (MIT)

Adam Posen (PIIE)

Ishana Ratan  (University of California, Berkeley)

Aparna Ravi (University of College London)

Stephanie Rickard (LSE)

Todd Tucker (Roosevelt Institute)