Reassessing the Role and Design of Industrial Policies for the U.S.

Funded by the Sloan Foundation and in partnership with Columbia University, this project aims to enhance the understanding of objectives, underlying principles, and effective design of industrial policies for the U.S. The team will identify critical market failures that may make it desirable to intervene in the market allocation of resources or the choice of technology, with particular attention to innovation, the green transition, and key aspects of the new emerging geo-economics and geo-politics. They will also conduct theoretical research into the essential elements in the design of industrial policies and their implementation, and learn from the experiences of other countries that have undertaken industrial policies. Lastly, the initiative will apply cutting-edge econometric techniques to draw lessons from quasi-natural experiments and real experiments in industrial policy. These objectives will be met through holding major convenings and workshops and conducting empirical research complemented by theoretical investigations, which is anticipated to culminate in a series of academic papers.

Outside collaborators:

• Joseph E. Stiglitz, Columbia University
• Eric Verhoogen, Columbia University
• Martin Guzman, Columbia University
• Juan Montecino, American University

Project sponsor/grantor:

• Sloan Foundation