Recentring industrial policy paradigm within IPE and development studies

Abstract The article makes the case for a distinctive intellectual tradition of the industrial policy paradigm to examine state strategies in the twenty-first century. Specifically, it outlines three key lessons for political economy scholarship: first, it points to the need to study complementary institutions and the longer-term horizon in political cycles; second, it notes that scholars must seek innovative methodologies in examining sectoral development; and, third, it calls for a rethinking of state capacity in the new phase of globalisation, marked by strategic competition and neo-mercantilism. In so doing, the article opens a new research agenda for the next generation of scholars focussed on how industrial policy might help – or fail – to promote the creation of new comparative advantages and the advancement of internationally competitive firms and sectors, and, importantly, to deliver better quality of life for citizens in most of the Global South.