Industrial Policy Economic Growth And The Competitiveness Of U S Industry

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.

Stuart A. Rosenfeld presents a timely analysis of the problems the United States and other industrialized countries face as they adjust from economies based on natural resources and goods to economies based on quality of human resources and high-performance, market-oriented organizations. Some of the questions raised include: Will American industry successfully face the competitive challenge of the global economy? Can US manufacturing raise productivity and innovate enough to remain healthy? Have the latest advances in process technology and management practice penetrated the rural industrial base? How can public policy help improve the competitiveness of the crucial manufacturing sector? This book challenges the conventional wisdom in economic development policy. Past state and local industrial policy focused on locational decisions, not on issues of competitiveness. Building the competitive advantage of industry is more important than promoting the competitive advantages of location. Incentives to modernize are more important than subsidies to locate. Competitive Manufacturing uses the rural South, the most industrialized rural region of the nation, to examine the strengths and weaknesses of manufacturing as the basis for economic growth. Using historical analysis, surveys, and intensive case studies, the author analyzes the technological capabilities of rural manufacturing, the factors that influence the decision to modernize, and the effects of technology on education and work. Comparative studies in Denmark and Italy point to new directions for US economic development policy.

Richard Harris’s now classic study on trade and industrial policy was written for the Royal Commission on the Economic Union and Development Prospects for Canada (also known as the Macdonald Commission). First published in 1985 when the Canadian economy faced dramatic changes arising from the emergence of manufacturing competitors among newly industrialized nations and increased protectionism in the US, its recommendations were instrumental in the negotiation of the North America Free Trade Agreement. Addressing the key issues surrounding the design and choice of policies for the Canadian economy, Trade, Industrial Policy, and International Competition reviews the theory and evidence concerning trade liberalization as a mechanism to enhance economic growth, disinvestment in sections that are disadvantageous in the international marketplace, and future problems for the marketing sector caused by increasing competition from developing countries. Drawing from many streams of conventional economic thinking, Harris develops an original and sophisticated model for assessing the broader economic impacts of trade liberalization on the Canadian economy. He concludes that free trade and industrial policy should be regarded as complementary, not substitutes for one another, and recommends a free trade agreement with the United States as a top priority. A new introduction by David Wolfe situates this work within its time and shows how Harris’s analytical insights and policy prescriptions are as relevant today as they when they were originally crafted three decades ago.

Based on studies of industrial policy carried out at the University of Pennsylvania Economics Research Unit, this volume presents an overview of the issues of industrial policy. The authors discuss the various meanings of industrial policy; explain the types of market-failure that would prompt most economists to accept governmental intervention at the industry level; chronicle selective intervention in developed and developing countries since World War II; and mull over the policy available to the United States. They seek to set the stage for further studies of general and industry specific incentives in the framework of models of the macro-economy and with respect to particular industries. ISBN 0-669-05412-7 : $25.95.

This book addresses the crucial question of America's adjustment to changes in the international economy. It examines policies that will deal effectively with the continuing erosion of the U.S. share of exports and production in world markets and explores in particular the debate on "industrial policy."

Technology can contribute to economic growth and productivity increases. Legislative activity over the past 25 or more years has created a policy for technology development. Because of the lack of consensus on the scope and direction of a national policy, Congress has taken an incremental approach aimed at creating new mechanisms to facilitate technological advancement in particular areas and making changes and improvements as necessary. Contents of this report: (1) Technol. and Competitive.; (2) The Fed. Role in Technology Development; (3) Legislative Initiatives and Current Programs: Increased R&D Spending: Industry-Univ. Coop. Efforts; Joint Industrial Research; Commercializing Federally Funded R&D; Different Approach?