Global Resurgence of Industrial Policy: Evidence from 2023 GTA-NIPO Data

Abstract

In recent years, the resurgence of global industrial policies has drawn significant scholarly attention. To examine the main trends and characteristics of this revival, this study analyses 2,580 industrial policy measures implemented in 2023. The analysis uses data from the GTA-NIPO database, which was jointly developed by the Global Trade Alert (GTA) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to systematically collect and document industrial policy measures worldwide. It is shown that advanced economies are the primary drivers of the resurgence, with the United States playing a leading role. Fiscal allocation emerges as the dominant policy tool in advanced economies, whereas import tariffs are the main instrument in non-developed economies. Climate change mitigation is the principal policy motivation for advanced economies, while strategic competitiveness motivates most policies in non-developed economies. Selective, enterprise-focused industrial policies are widely used, with advanced economies employing them more extensively. These findings provide both theoretical insights and practical guidance for rethinking industrial policy and underscore the need for a responsible global governance framework to manage the resurgence of industrial policies in an increasingly interconnected world.