Manufacturing regimes and transitional paths: Lessons for industrial policy

This paper argues that structural approaches to the analysis of economic systems provide useful theoretical insights for the definition of industrial policy. In particular, radical structural changes represent 'industrial revolutions' between manufacturing regimes. This paper addresses industrial policy as a policy of transitional (medium-term) dynamics. We analyse industrial revolutions, from the first to the on-going fourth industrial revolution, and discuss both the structural changes implied, namely the shift between manufacturing regimes, and the implications for industrial policy. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.