Industrial Policy: Account for Complex Interdependences

Debates on industrial policy surged in the wake of the current crises. Policymakers, however, should not lapse into conserving old structures which too often prove obsolete. Instead, key industries with high-quality jobs and future growth prospects must be identified. These are knowledge-intensive branches, intertwined with other economic sectors in more complex ways than usually acknowledged in standard input-output analyses. Optimal policy should account for these intra-industry linkages while facilitating the transformation to a green and modern industrial structure.