Industrial policy and COVID-19 responses

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is not exclusively a public health crisis. It has spiralled into a complex global socio-economic crisis of a kind not seen since the Second World War. Unlike the 2008 global financial and economic crisis, the current economic crisis is interlocked with a public health emergency at a time of weak global collaboration and has exposed the vulnerability of the economic system. It has also revealed wide differences in government policy responses, highlighting various industrial policy and developmental roles of governments. This paper maps and analyses the variation in governments’ responses to the public health emergency and in their economic rescue packages. This review suggests that governments with rich experience of industrial policymaking have demonstrated the ability to translate industrial capability into an appropriate public health emergency response. At a time when interest in industrial policy has been increasing, a key insight that may be drawn from this paper is the adaptability of industrial policy, which continues to be vital for economic catch-up and learning.