The Return of Industrial Policy
Industrial policy is back, openly embraced by governments in countries like Britain and France, and by prestigious organizations like the Word Bank and McKinsey. The standard rap against industrial policy – that governments cannot pick winners – is largely irrelevant: what determines success in industrial policy is the much less demanding capacity to let losers go.
https://prosyn.org/HLwbo9O
CAMBRIDGE – British Prime Minister Gordon Brown promotes it as a vehicle for creating high-skill jobs. French President Nicolas Sarkozy talks about using it to keep industrial jobs in France. The World Bank’s chief economist, Justin Lin, openly supports it to speed up structural change in developing nations. McKinsey is advising governments on how to do it right.