Brazilian Lessons for Industrial Policy

Few economic ideas are more lauded and reviled than that of industrial policy. As industrial policy undergoes a renaissance worldwide, Brazil’s experience in promoting renewable fuels, beginning in the 1970’s, is directly relevant to the debate over its merits, and suggests that the key to success is the timely withdrawal of subsidies and protective measures.

SAO PAULO – Few economic ideas are more lauded and reviled than that of industrial policy. Proponents, such as those who studied the rise of the East Asian economies, swear by it. Opponents see red at its very mention. The former point to economic development; the latter maintain that tens, even hundreds, of billions of dollars have been squandered.

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