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Employment Economy Featured News World

Industrial policy and retaliatory protection under the WTO: Lessons from China

Industrial policy is increasingly implemented worldwide, with many policymakers and researchers highlighting its benefits. However, the cost of industrial policy remains less understood. Using Chinese firm-level data, this column shows that higher industrial subsidies raise the likelihood and severity of foreign anti-dumping and countervailing duties at each investigation stage. These retaliatory tariffs wipe out roughly […]

Covid-19 Featured Lifestyle

State aid in times of crisis: Lessons from COVID-19 support for firms in Italy and Spain

The unprecedented wave of state aid to firms across the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic raised questions about who benefited and how effective these interventions were. This column uses firm-level data from Spain and Italy – two of the countries worst affected by the pandemic – to evaluate the economic impact of aid. Targeted support […]

Innovation Development Economy Featured

Tax incentives for R&D can spur innovation and growth—when done right

As the debate around industrial policy intensifies, there is broad consensus on the rationale for government support to encourage private sector innovation. Economy-wide returns from research and development (R&D) in the private sector can be much greater the returns reaped by private firms alone. That’s because the knowledge generated by R&D often spills over to […]

Development Economy Featured Finance

Industrial policy lessons from East Germany’s privatisation

There has been renewed interest in industrial policy as a tool to reshape the structure of economic activity, but little evidence exists on the successful design and implementation of these policies. This column examines the transformation of East Germany’s state-controlled economy after the collapse of socialism and draws valuable lessons from the experience for contemporary […]