PreprintCited by 1,623Asian Industrial and Economic DevelopmentEconomic and Industrial DevelopmentEconomic Theory and Policy

Industrial Policy for the Twenty-First Century

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Rodrik, Dani·2004·SSRN Electronic Journal

Abstract

Unlike what is commonly believed, the last two decades have not witnessed the twilight of industrial policy. Instead, incentives and subsidies have been refocused on exports and direct foreign investment, in the belief that these activities are the source of significant positive spillovers. The challenge in most developing countries is not to rediscover industrial policy, but to redeploy it in a more effective manner. This paper lays out an institutional framework for accomplishing this objective. A central argument is that the task of industrial policy is as much about eliciting information from the private sector on significant externalities and their remedies as it is about implementing appropriate policies. The right model for industrial policy is not that of an autonomous government applying Pigovian taxes or subsidies, but of strategic collaboration between the private sector and the government with the aim of uncovering where the most significant obstacles to restructuring lie and what type of interventions are most likely to remove them.

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Research works printed but not linked: 8

  1. Amsden, Alice H., Asia's Next Giant: South Korea and Late Industrialization, Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford, 1989.
  2. Evans, Peter, Embedded Autonomy: States and Industrial Transformation, Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1995.
  3. Hausmann, Ricardo and Dani Rodrik, "Economic Development as Self-Discovery," Journal of Development Economics, vol. 72, December 2003.
  4. Imbs, Jean, and Romain Wacziarg, "Stages of Diversification," American Economic Review, 93(1), March 2003, 63-86.
  5. Madani, Dorsati, "A Review of the Role and Impact of Export Processing Zones," World Bank, 1998.
  6. Deardorff, J. Levinson, and R. Stern (eds.), New Directions in Trade Theory, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 1995.
  7. Sabel, Charles F., "Beyond Principal-Agent Governance: Experimentalist Organizations, Learning and Accountability," Columbia University, July 2004 (to appear in Ewald Engelen & Monika Sie Dhian Ho (eds.), De Staat van de Democratie. Democratie voorbij de Staat. WRR Verkenning 3, Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press).
  8. Wade, Robert, Governing the Market, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1990.

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Authors
Rodrik, D.
Affiliations
National Bureau of Economic Research (US)
Corresponding author
Rodrik, Dani
Venue
SSRN Electronic Journal
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2004
ISSN
1556-5068 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3124879925
Cited by
1,623
References
11
Citations by year
2026: 96 · 2025: 91 · 2024: 72 · 2023: 64 · 2022: 68 · 2021: 118 · 2020: 107 · 2019: 80 · 2018: 102 · 2017: 89 · 2016: 78 · 2015: 75 · 2014: 77 · 2013: 75 · 2012: 62
Type
posted content
Language
en
Open access
Locations
SSRN Electronic Journal (acceptedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Asian Industrial and Economic Development
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Economic and Industrial Development
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › General Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economic Theory and Policy
Keywords
industrial policy, developing countries, export incentives, foreign direct investment, subsidies, spillover effects, externalities, institutional framework, industrial restructuring, Pigouvian tax

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