International Handbook on Industrial Policy

Book excerpt: This timely and much-needed Handbook reconsiders an old topic from a fresh perspective, raising a number of new, interesting and worthwhile issues in the wake of ten years of globalization. This comprehensive analysis illustrates that old-style industrial policies whereby the government directly intervened in markets, and was often the producer itself, are no longer relevant. Structural changes occurring in economies summarized in the term globalization are triggering the definition and implementation of new industrial policies. The contributors, leading experts in their field, unite to evaluate this shift of over a decade ago. Employing various empirical and methodological approaches with a strong theoretical underpinning, this world-wide study of the state-of-the-art of industrial policy issues is an invaluable reference tool. It has been enthusiastically received by a wide-ranging audience including scholars, researchers and policy makers with an interest in industrial economics and policy, business studies and policies for growth, competitiveness and development.