Industrial Policy in the XXIc.: Reappraisal in the Age of Ecological Crisis

Industrialisation, a pillar of modern prosperity, has had severe consequences for the biosphere, now threatening the possibility of reproduction of human civilisation as we know it. The present ecological crisis presents us with an imperative: to fundamentally transform current economic structures — both national and international — and to find ways of achieving sustainable prosperity. In the past, industrial policy — the coordination by the state of national structural transformation and industrial development — played a central role in accelerating productivity growth, stimulating innovation and enabling the catch-up process of late developing economies. Today, however, its traditional formula is seriously outdated as more of the same industrialisation would only push humanity closer to the precipice.

Yet, industrial policy could prove a necessary tool in the pursuit of sustainable forms of development. In less developed economies, green forms of industrial policy could help elevate productivity levels, diversify the economy, and create jobs while respecting planetary boundaries. In the world at large, finding viable pathways to truly sustainable development requires us to restructure just about every major industry, not to mention the need to deploy new technologies and infrastructure and to fundamentally rethink our modes of living. Market-based solutions are unlikely to solve these challenges. Sufficiently rapid overhauling of brown energy systems, pivoting in resource use, redesigning carbon-intensive production techniques, or developing a range of new ‘green’ industries are all radical developments that depend on effective, activist industrial policy. That, in turn, requires innovation in thinking about industrial policy that is no less radical.

This seminar series endeavours to provide an interdisciplinary reflection on how the ecological crisis redefines industrial policy in the 21st century. It seeks to bring together perspectives and studies from various regions and contexts. In doing so, it addresses questions about the new realities of development in times of ecological crisis:

• What structural transformation should we pursue?
• How should we understand ‘green’ industrial policy and ‘green’ developmentalism?
• Are these concepts bound to become ecological oxymorons?
• What are the socio-ecological consequences of ‘green’ industrial development in the North for the countries of the South?
• Can less-developed economies take advantage of the energy and ecological transitions?

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The seminar series, organised on behalf of YSI's Economic Development and Sustainability working groups, will be held in person at the Univeristy of Cambridge but all presentations will be streamed (see programme).

Programme

16.01 – 5-6.30pm – ‘Re’sourcing Eurasia
Speaker: Prof. Siddarth Saxena, University of Cambridge
Venue: Alison Richards Building, Room S1
Online: Zoom (https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcpcemgqj4oHtBKJVpzrNsXd0Npl-F7zlOJ)

23.01 – 5-6.30pm – Thinking about Sustainable Development with Keynes
Speaker: Prof. Eric Berr, University of Bordeaux
Venue: Alison Richards Building, Room S1
Online: Zoom (https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcvd-morzstHtKHLHxD93qGpX6Eynm27Eb9)

30.01 – 6-7.30pm – Central Banking in Times of Fossil-Fuel Price Shocks: Containing Inflation While Supporting the Low-carbon Transition
Speaker: Prof. Ulrich Volz, SOAS
Venue: Alison Richards Building, Room S1
Online: Zoom (https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJctduCqqz0pHtKdOF-XNsAJUvHup-R2NpAy)

13.02 – 5-6.30pm – Industrial Policy in the EU: ‘Appropriate Industrial Policy’ and the Core-Periphery Divide
Speaker: Prof. Michael Landesmann, Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies and Johannes Kepler University Linz
Venue: Alison Richards Building, Room 138
Online: Zoom (https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUvf-2rrTouGdwd9-PpvOpO03mPOYk0cOzL)

20.02 – 4-5.30pm – Without transition : a new history of energy
Speaker: Prof. Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, EHESS
Online: Zoom (https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIode2trD8rGdWiGZ5YjpfHDPgWvI-SGXCp)

25.04 – TBC – Innovation Policies and the Transition to Smart Green Growth*
Speaker: Prof. Carlota Perez, UCL, University of Sussex, Tallinn University of Technology, Anthemis
Online: Zoom (https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAqdOCprTgtH9BUNvxbGQl7KHw7WrYWL_NZ)

*Provisional title, to be confirmed closer to the date.