The course will provide theoretical foundations, historical development, examples of practical policy implementation and mayor strands of current debates in ‘Modern Industrial Policy’.  

The topic of Industrial Policy is very timely as there is currently a renewed and intense debate about the role, the scope and the limits of state intervention in economic development. Again, governments are trying to attain certain societal and economic goals by a number of direct and indirect interventions and there is currently a lively debate among policymakers, economists and the general public about the concrete form such interventions should or should not take.

After an introductory block covering (i) a general introduction to the concept of ‘Industrial Policy’, (ii) the rationale and the historical development of the approaches in industrial policy in general, subtopics will be selected for further in-depth elaboration and discussion. These sub-topics include e.g. (i) Industrial Policies for the economic development of ‘catching-up’ countries, (ii) “Industrial Policies addressing societal challenges (e.g. climate change, energy, security, …)”, (iii) Industrial Policies for the digital economy and (iii) Industrial Policies aiming at increasing the rate of innovation and technological progress.

At the end of the course, the students should have an in-depth understanding of the basic concepts underlying Industrial Policy and should be able the critically assess the different approaches in current debates. They should have demonstrated the ability to apply this knowledge to one of the areas of current debate and to weigh the pros and cons of the different approaches in the respective context.

Attendance is mandatory; Students may miss two lectures if they provide sufficient justification for absence in written form. The attendance of the first unit is strictly mandatory as all organizational and practical issues are clarified in this unit. 

If a student does not attend, his/her place will be given to a student on the waiting list