The book... offers historical context, extensive sourcing, and an intellectual foundation for much of the industrial policy agenda currently influencing US economic policymaking. Even readers who disagree with many of the authors’ conclusions will find the volume a valuable resource for understanding the origins and logic of contemporary industrial policy debates. [more...]

[H]as come at the right time... a powerful reference book with a rich set of case studies on the use of industrial policy  across countries and sectors. These case studies  are well  researched  and include an impressive  depth  of  information...  Researchers will find a lot of inspiration to compare the validity of their frameworks against this range of  experiences. And for teaching, these chapters provide great  material to have students understand the complex reality of policies across different situations... [P]rovides intriguing  insights  into  the  current debate  on industrial policy  in  the  USA... [W]ell worth reading. [more...]

A significant resource for anybody interested in the issue. The book starts with the economic case for strategic government interventions in the supply side structure, arguments that have been gaining traction recently as the ultra-free marketism paradigm fades in the US and elsewhere... The demolition of the idea that a ‘free’ market is the way to organize the economy at a time of significant structural change is spot on. [more...]

It is very rich in content and I expect to find myself referring back to it often...They present a wealth of detailed information on the successes and failures of policies across places and through time... The authors are honest about failures... The chapter on Britain, discouragingly entitled “No Theory and Little Execution”  seems a pretty accurate account of the way in which policy here has swayed between free markets and state intervention, but often without much heft behind either. [more...]

In a remarkable and comprehensive book, Marc Fasteau and Ian Fletcher provide a theoretical, historical, and up-to-date review of industrial policies, in the United States and elsewhere, as well as a decent summary of the main Biden initiatives: the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS Act, as of late 2023. Their goal is to justify, defend, and extend the case for industrial policies, which they do with admirably fair attention to unsuccessful past cases. [more...]

This is not President Trump’s brand of America First... To many Americans this book will read as the common sense they have been waiting for. It is clear, programmatic and well-considered. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the intelligent side of the argument for protectionism in the US today.   [more...]

For the serious student of economics, this book offers detailed case studies of economic development. It also provides many opportunities for advocates of free markets to grapple with the various ways government policy can influence markets. The book also presents a substantive foil for contrasting a theoretical approach to understanding the economy with a historical piecemeal view of economic development.  [more...]

Industrial relations researchers will find this book engrossing because of its problem-oriented focus on industrial policy and the use of public policy tools to circumvent the problems. Economists engaged in theoretical modeling and empirical analysis related to economic growth will find that Fasteau and Fletcher take the conversation forward by looking at trade and industrial policy anew. Management researchers exploring innovation ecosystems and their forward and backward linkages have plenty to absorb from the sectoral and national case studies. Above all, this book can potentially act as an excellent primer in graduate schools for industrial policy and can also aid researchers and policymakers who are searching for a coherent framework.[more...]