Industrial Innovation Policy in the United States

The U.S. government is pursuing a series of new industrial policies at a level not seen before. This effort has been driven politically on a bipartisan basis by concern over Chinas extensive industrial policy system. Growing concern about climate change has also been a major driver for these new policies as has the Covid-19 pandemic. Industrial Innovation Policy in the United States places these new policy approaches into an historical context, particularly emphasizing industrial policy approaches to the innovation system. It then reviews the definitional and economic debates over industrial policy. Next, it catalogs and summarizes the main thrusts of new U.S. industrial policy efforts and describes the major elements, as well as gaps in these approaches. In particular, it notes the critical gap in the U.S. for scale-up funding for moving new technologies into production as compared to China. The author also notes the types of industrial innovation policies, characterizing top down and bottom up approaches. Finally, the monograph reviews the new mechanisms and supporting infrastructure needed to make industrial policy approaches operational.