Episode 50: Industrial Policy – Lessons from Past Experiences with Sir Geoffrey Owen

There is a revival of industrial policy in Europe. Ever since the global financial crisis, there has been talk in European capitals about taking a muscular approach to industrial policy – with the purpose of improving the competitiveness of some firms and some sectors. Berlin and Paris are now pushing hard for a new EU industrial policy. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has big plans for new industrial policies in the United States. The UK has also joined the fray.

In this episode, Fredrik Erixon and Sir Geoffrey Owen discuss what lessons we have learnt from past experiences of industrial policy: what has worked and what hasn’t?

Sir Geoffrey Owen is Head of Industrial Policy at Policy Exchange and a Visiting Professor of Practice at the London School of Economics. He has been the Editor of the Financial Times and authored several books and studies on industrial policy and industrial change. These include Science, the State and the City, a book co-written with Michael Hopkins on the biotechnology sector, and Industrial Policy in Europe since the Second World War: What has been Learnt?, an ECIPE study.

This episode was recorded as a live webinar. Click here to watch this conversation on YouTube.