Industrial policy has returned to centre stage after decades of neglect or worse, yet its revival is deeply ambivalent. This chapter argues that effective and desirable industrial policies rests on the alignment of three mutually reinforcing conditions, namely, first, public measures shaping the...

Space-enabled technologies underpin communications, navigation, Earth observation, and critical infrastructure, but widely cited estimates of the space economy often rely on proprietary classifications or revenue tallies that abstract from production linkages. We develop a transparent,...

Industrial policy interventions have surged since 2020, increasingly driven by geopolitical concerns. The New Industrial Policy Observatory reveals over 36,000 interventions globally since 2009, enabling a systematic analysis of patterns and impacts. Industrial policies can improve products'...

Industrial policies can be effective where markets fail, including in supporting green transition. Industrial policies often pursue multiple conflicting objectives that must be prioritized. To counteract discrimination against foreign interests, industrial policies should include competitive...

Semiconductor supply is subject of sizable subsidy schemes in the US, the EU, China, Japan, Korea, and India. Chip imports are concentrated in few countries, with the EU accounting for less than 5 percent of worldwide chip sales. Chips are highly heterogeneous products that serve different...

The resurgence of subsidies and industrial policies has raised concerns about their potential inefficiency and alignment with multilateral principles. Critics warn that such policies may divert resources to less efficient firms and provoke retaliatory measures from other countries, leading to a...

In proposing industrial policies to promote development-enhancing upgrading, both the Middle-Income Trap (MIT) and Global Value Chain (GVC) literatures imply a "technocratic" approach that matches a given technical challenge to the right policy instrument. This paper suggests that, apart from...

In an era of fragmented global production and domestic decentralization, middle-income countries confront the complex challenge of industrial upgrading. While national governments remain central to industrial policy design and funding, upgrading unfolds through multi-level interactions between...

Emerging economies confront unprecedented challenges mobilizing finance for green industrial transitions while maintaining development trajectories. This paper examines implementation effectiveness across India, South Africa, Brazil, and Indonesia-major economies representing diverse political...

This study examines the role of science and technology finance (S&TF) and Industry 4.0 innovations in promoting sustainable transformation in China's copper mining industry, with a focus on reducing carbon emissions. Using panel data from 30 Chinese provinces spanning 2011 to 2020, we apply...

Local content policies (LCPs) are key instruments of industrial policy used by middle-income countries (MICs) to capture segments of global value chains (GVCs). While, in principle, LCPs are very similar, in practice, they are highly diverse. What to prioritize, how to measure it, while...

Germany and Europe are often said to lag behind the United States and China in the development and application of artificial intelligence technologies and other complementary technologies. Scientific, technological and ultimately economic performance in the field of this technology bundle, often...

We examine the local effects of South Korea's large-scale place-based industrial policy of constructing industrial complexes in left-behind regions. We compile a novel dataset on industrial complex designations dating back to the 1960s and link it to administrative establishment surveys. Using a...

Using Chinese firm-level trade data combined with global anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations, we uncover a previously overlooked cost of industrial policy under WTO agreements. At every stage of AD/CVD investigation, subsidies significantly raise the probability of...

What has led to the growing disillusionment with the European project? What have we learned from the process of Europeanisation, and can these lessons guide us in the present? To answer these questions, the article offers a long-term view of the diverging trajectories of Central and Peripheral...

As the Draghi report shows, Europe needs to undergo a fundamental transformation in order to escape its 'mid-technology trap'. Mainstream economic theory offers little guidance on how to achieve this. A critical review of neoclassical growth theory shows that in these models, growth and...

Industrial policy has returned amid geopolitical rivalry, supply-chain fragility, and contemporary grand transitions, but its performance hinges less on ideology than on governance and design. By examining three comparative cases (Germany, Republic of Korea, South Africa), this paper argues that...

Der aktuelle EcoAustria Competitiveness Index (ECI) zeigt auch im ersten Halbjahr 2025 keine echte Trendwende: Österreich verliert im europäischen Vergleich weiterhin an Wettbewerbsfähigkeit. Besonders bei Investitionen, Exporten und Produktivität bleibt die Entwicklung hinter der anderer...

Trade conflicts, geopolitical tensions, digital disruption, and the climate crisis pose major challenges for the European Union (EU) and its member states. As called for in the Draghi Report, industrial policy measures can increase competitiveness, strengthen resilience, and facilitate the twin...

East Asia exhibits remarkable economic heterogeneity, yet debates on the region's development have centered predominantly on the most successful cases, such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, all examples of the so-called "developmental state" model, or China's economic upswing. Building on the...

The topic of second-hand clothing illustrates the economic, social, and environmental impacts of global textile and garment value chains and, more broadly, the complex interrelations in production, trade, and consumption between the Global South and the Global North. The dynamics of global...

Building on previous discussions and research facilitated by the Forum New Economy, this paper lays out the economic rationale behind approaching climate policy beyond a focus on externalities and discusses the synthesis of strategic investment support, positive incentives, and carbon pricing to...

This paper examines the evolving relationship between EU Cohesion and Industrial Policy, focusing on how the latter's shift towards macro-level missions-such as decarbonisation and strategic autonomy-undermines territorial cohesion and regional convergence. Reviewing the evolution and...