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International Industrial Policy Experiences & the Lessons for the UK

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  • Ha-Joon Chang
  • Antonio Andreoni
  • Ming Leong Kuan

Abstract

The present study reviews a diverse set of countries with the most successful industrial policy experiences since the Second World War - namely, the US, Germany, Japan, Italy, Finland, (South) Korea, Singapore, China, and Brazil - with a view to deriving lessons for the UK. In Section 1 an industrial competitiveness benchmarking analysis opens by tracking long term countries' trajectories and revealing the current alarming state of UK's manufacturing. Section 2 discusses some of the key theoretical issues in the debate on industrial policy, namely: (a) different definitions of industrial policy and problems related to the standard distinction between 'horizontal' and 'vertical' measures; (b) the special role of the manufacturing sector in the overall economy, especially as the source of productivity growth, innovation, learning, and resilience; (c) main theoretical justifications for certain widely adopted industrial policy tools and institutions. Section 3, then, reviews the industrial policy experiences of the nine comparator countries. While historical material dating back from the 18th century is covered when appropriate, the focus is more on the recent period, since the 1980s or the 1990s. In Section 4, we draw lessons for the UK's industrial policy from the nine country experiences that we review in Section 3, filtered through the theoretical discussions provided in Section 2. We draw the lessons along several dimensions: (a) the role of 'vision'; (b) institutional settings and policy coordination; (c) finance and corporate governance; (d) promotion of innovation; (e) management of transnational corporations; (f) support for SMEs; (g) skills and training. Finally, section 5 looks ahead for the future of the UK's manufacturing sector and policies, taking into account our theoretical discussions, country case reviews, and the lessons we have drawn from those discussions.

Suggested Citation

  • Ha-Joon Chang & Antonio Andreoni & Ming Leong Kuan, 2013. "International Industrial Policy Experiences & the Lessons for the UK," Working Papers wp450, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
  • Handle: RePEc:cbr:cbrwps:wp450
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Industrial policy; manufacturing; policy challenges; UK; US; Germany; Japan; Italy; Finland; (South) Korea; Singapore; China; Brazil;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • O25 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Industrial Policy
    • O50 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - General
    • P51 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - Comparative Analysis of Economic Systems

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