Industrial policy

“China has gotten ‘pretty good’ at developing its economy” is something that many people are clearly loathe to admit. That is why many seem to gravitate towards flawed, simplistic macro-based explanations that primarily attribute its development to other reasons like “unfair subsidies” and “beggar thy neighbor” policies. But the most logical, evidence-based explanation here is that over the decades Chinese industrial planning…

Did China really ask Western companies to transfer technology in return for market access—and is that why China is so dominant today? Yes, the “market access for technology” pattern was real in important parts of China’s rise—especially from the 1990s through the 2010s, when foreign firms often needed joint ventures, licenses, or approvals to operate in China in sensitive sectors. U.S. government findings around the Section…