Industrial Policy in America

In contrast to what observers have frequently argued, this timely and thought provoking book suggests that the concept of industrial policy is not alien to the American past and present.The debate on this topic in the US has always been full of contradictory rhetoric and policy practices, and the expert authors therefore acknowledge a need to rethink the traditional antagonist positions. They illustrate that contemporary markets continue to demand to be fixed by government policies, and governments continue to show how fixing-the-market policies might fail. The conclusion is that the future of industrial policy is about how to make both markets and governments better in their functioning, but that the real goal for industrial policy is to make better-market and better-government policies consistent with the goal of building a better society.

Affirming that it is time to break the taboo and discuss the nation's goals, targets, and tools to develop a new, effective American industrial policy, this pathbreaking book will prove a thought provoking and challenging read for students, academics and policymakers with an interest in political economy and industrial policy, public sector and international economics.

For a video of the authors discussing their book, please visit:

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Contents: Preface 1. Industrial Policy: Tools, Targets, and Goals 2. Better Markets, Better Government, Better Society 3. Industrial Policy in America's Economic History: A Bird's-Eye View 4. Industrial Policy in America's Recent History 5. Industrial Policy of the Obama Administration 6. Vertical Policy Initiatives of President Obama 7. Beyond Vertical Interventions 8. Quo Vadis? Choosing our Destiny References Index