LibGuides: ECON-431 Fiscal Policy in the US: Biden's Industrial Policy

Why an Industrial Policy?

What is an "Industrial Policy"?
When government policies explicitly target the transformation of the structure of economic activity in pursuit of some public goal.

Why U.S. Needs an Industrial Policy (1/1982)
Robert Reich's article in the Harvard Business Review, "Why the US Needs an Industrial Policy," argues for the necessity of a strategic industrial policy to enhance U.S. global competitiveness. Reich critiques the “supply-side” approach, claiming that it is insufficient and potentially even harmful to disadvantaged communities. He advocates for an industrial policy that includes and emphasizes national goals such as housing, economic power balance, and worker rights, all without harming industrial competitiveness. The article also discusses the potential challenges of developing such a policy in the U.S. due to its complicated political landscape, stating that a coherent and publicly supported strategy is needed to ensure execution.
Is Industrial Policy Making a Comeback? (9/18/2023)
The article published by the Council on Foreign Relations discusses the history of industrial policy and the variety of ways industrial policies have been implemented in countries including the U.S. It reviews attitudes towards industrial policy and how it fell out of favor in the U.S. in the 1980’s and this became the Washington Consensus. The article goes on to explain how President Biden’s administration recognized the need to design a coordinated industrial policy to contend with climate change, unstable supply chains, China’s economic rise, and the decline in US competitiveness.
A Controversial Idea at the Heart of Bidenomics: NPR Interview with Reka Juhasz (2/23/2024)
In this podcast interview on National Public Radio Reka Juhasz shares the results of her studies on industrial policy and its “taboo” nature in American politics. She points out that the general opinion on industrial policy is that its inefficient and perhaps, at times, even harmful. She then discusses instances of successful industrial policies throughout the world in history. She goes on to explain Biden’s new plan and theorizes what direction it may be heading.
Industrial Policy Toolkit: p.9 (7/2020)
This table from a publication of the Roosevelt Institute displays the various fiscal policy tools available to policy-makers when designing an industrial policy, as well as the expected outcome of using the different policy levers. It divides these tools into four categories: inputs (what goes into industrial policy), outputs (the result/what comes out of it), governance and ownership (the structure) and coordination (the collaboration across industries and sectors).
History of Ad Hoc Industrial Policy: pp 17-29 (7/2020)
This section of a Roosevelt Institute Report discusses the challenges and limitations faced by the U.S. when trying to implement a comprehensive industrial policy and plan. The issues stem from historical obstacles such as racism, sexism, and judicial constraints. The source looks at U.S. industrial policy throughout history, focusing on different eras such as Hamiltonian, Long Nineteenth Century, New Deal/ Golden Age, and Neoliberal. The focus is directed to showing how barriers have impeded industrial policy efforts.

Credits:

The contents of this section were currated by the students in Prof. Zannoni's Spring 2024 Senior Seminar Course:
Nick Bailey, T-Jauni Barham, Ian Brown, Jon Carafotes, Egan Dewitt, John Geary, Jonah Green, Sean Noonan, Colin Sharp, Justin Torres-West, Andrew Zito

Public Opinion

Roper iPOLL
Provided by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University, Roper iPoll is the largest collection of public opinion poll data with results from 1935 to the present. Roper iPoll contains nearly 800,000 questions and over 23,000 datasets from both U.S. and international polling firms. Surveys cover any number of topics including, social issues, politics, pop culture, international affairs, science, the environment, and much more. When available, results charts, demographic crosstabs and full datasets are provided for immediate download.

Below are a few relevant public opinion surveys related to Biden's Industrial Policies. Note: There are MANY more!

How Has the Print Media Responded?

U.S. Major Dailies (ProQuest)
Includes recent and current content of the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. Coverage: 1980-current. Individual titles have varying coverage dates.
Access World News Research Collection (Newsbank)
A full-text news resource consisting of local, regional, national and international sources. Updated daily, it offers primary source information on today’s issues and events from newspapers, newswires, transcripts, video clips, web only, and blogs.

AllSides Media Bias Ratings
AllSides Media Bias Ratings™ make media bias transparent, helping you to easily identify different perspectives so you can get the full picture and think for yourself.