About the Industrial Policy Group
Industrial policy is now confronting multiple global challenges. At this critical moment, we believe the tools of economics and empirical social science are essential to understanding these interventions. The Industrial Policy Group (IPG) is an empirical research lab dedicated to studying industrial strategy.
Our academic research group is run by us, Dr. Réka Juhász (University of British Columbia) and Dr. Nathan Lane (University of Oxford), and was established in 2022 after years spent working on industrial policy issues.
The IPG aims to produce top, evidence-based research to promote fundamental, non-ideological insights surrounding industrial strategy. By producing focused, high-quality research, our goal is to accelerate rigorous empirical study in this nascent literature.
Our passion for industrial policy began during our PhDs. We have dedicated our early research careers to applying tools of applied econometrics to understand core issues surrounding these policies.
We work closely with an amazing group of young researchers and graduate students. Our lab manager is Verónica Pérez.
Policy Engagement
We regularly meet with multilateral agencies, NGOs, think tanks, and government bodies. Our engagement has included,
U.S. President Biden’s Council of Economic Advisors (CEA), The World Trade Organization (WTO), U.K. Treasury (His Majesty’s Treasury), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), German Ministry of Finance, Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), The Netherland’s Central Planning Bureau (CPB), Central Bank of Chile, Korea Development Institute (KDI), Le Centre d’études prospectives et d'informations internationales (CEPII), Roosevelt Institute, Berggruen Institute, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Arenagruppen (Sweden),
and more.
We regularly engage with various groups at the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and various U.S. government institutions, including the Department of Energy, U.S. congressional committees, etc.
Board of Advisors
Nancy Gallini
Professor Emeritus
Vancouver School of Economics
The University of British Columbia
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Ann E. Harrison
Dean and Bank of America Chair
Haas School of Business
University of California, Berkeley
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Dani Rodrik
Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
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Henry Siu
Professor
Vancouver School of Economics
The University of British Columbia
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Industrial Policy Group Values
A) Industrial policy is an important object of study, and ripe for revisiting by economics.
Industrial policy is omnipresent. Although its popularity has come in waves, industrial policy has been a perennial feature of economic policymaking. Our goal is to take this subject seriously as an object of inquiry. In particular, one worthy of study using the tools of applied economics.
B) We are empiricists. We take a data-driven approach to studying industrial strategy.
We believe the tools of econometrics and applied economics have the power to elevate the discussion around these interventions. This approach reflects our comparative advantage as economists, and the lack of empirical knowledge in our discipline.
E) Embrace insights and contributions beyond economics—quantitative or qualitative.
Although we are economists, we believe other disciplines contribute to a robust understanding of practice. This includes rich qualitative and comparative work, and insights from political science, scholars of public policy, historians, area specialists, and more.
D) We believe in mentorship and cultivating a new generation of researchers.
Our goal is to cultivate an environment that supports and develops young researchers, especially those traditionally outside the core academic pipeline. We believe in promoting participatory research with junior researchers. Thus, we strive for a “learning-by-doing” model of training.
C) Economics lacks a systematic understanding of industrial strategy. Empirical work means being humble.
Industrial policies are vast and also complex. Relative to their use, economists know far too little, systematically, them. Sweeping generalizations around these interventions often do not reflect our stock of knowledge. We believe good empirical work has the power to provide more nuanced and useful engagement in this area.
F) We believe in collaboration. We believe healthy teams produce better research.
Although we are economists, we believe other disciplines contribute to a robust understanding of practice. This includes rich qualitative and comparative work, and insights from political science, public policy, historians, area specialists, and more.