Efficiency, Finance, and Varieties of Industrial Policy

Learning and ideas are public assets; capital markets have deep problems in managing longer-term risk. That is enough to tell us that market structures and government policies around finance and technology are likely to be critical to growth in all economies whether more advanced or less advanced. That means that industrial policy matters. The challenge is how to do it well and in a way that fosters rather than hinders entrepreneurship and creativity. That is why this book is so important. It is full of insight and empirical investigation and covers a very broad range of countries and economies. It is an immensely valuable contribution. -- Nicholas Stern, London School of Economics and Political Science and President, British Academy An excellent addition to the literature on learning, industrial, and technology policies. The links between capabilities, learning and productivity are complex and unlikely to spontaneously emerge. Effective policies have to take into account differences in political contexts, capability levels and structures of national economies, as well as global institutions and opportunities. This book adds to our understanding of the complexity of these challenges as well as the necessity of addressing them. -- Mushtaq Khan, SOAS, University of London The works collected in the volume offer theoretical as well as comparative applied insights... Highly recommended. Choice