For nearly four centuries, Americans have debated the government's proper role in developing the economy. Some argue that the economy develops the best when government intervenes the least. Others counter that the economy best develops when government and business work together to that end. A Short History of American Industrial Policies analyzes the ideological, political, and industrial policy struggle from the colonial era to the 1990s. To give a complete understanding, both the chronology and process of America's industrial policymaking and policies are explored in depth throughout.

With the advent of Thatcherism in the UK and Reaganomics in the USA, ‘industrial policy’ had become something of a discredited notion in the 1980s. The emphasis had shifted to programmes of deregulation, de-nationalization, and tax reform. The essays in this challenging and vigorous collection, first published in 1989, sprung from work that had been conducted in the USA, notably at the Harvard Business School, on reappraising the role of the public sector in industrial management. This American work suggested ways in which public sector and other bodies might have revitalized industrial life. This book is ideal for students of business and economics.

This book explores 19th-century railroad policies in the United States, France, and Britain to identify the roots of nations' modern industrial policy styles.

What is the government's proper role in the economy? Do free or managed markets best promote economic development? Who can best pick industrial winners and losers, the government or private sector? This book attempts to answer those and related questions by exploring the evolution and results of federal policies towards half a dozen economic sectors. Those policies are largely determined by the representatives of the targeted industry, bureaucrats from agencies and departments that administer that industry, and politicians with firms from that industry in their districts. These 'iron triangles' capture a 'virtuous' political economic cycle in which they use their united power to grant themselves favourable policies which in turn enhances their power. As will be seen, the results of such a politicized industrial policy process varies considerably from one industry to the next.

In GATT negotiations over the past several years the United States, a founding member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, has been pushing hard for a global liberalization of trade in services. This development would have special significance for the Pacific because of the intensifying competition between the United States and Japan for market shares. A comprehensive analysis of the service sector's role in that dynamic region is offered in this timely volume. Leading experts explore how service enterprises have affected trade in goods and transnational manufacturing, forming a regional pattern of interdependence. The authors assess each service sector from a regional perspective and offer detailed individual country studies as well. The concluding chapters provide a broad overview of corporate strategies, discuss questions of regional cooperation, and identify opportunities for new regional service enterprises.