Workshop on Industrial policy in Comparative Perspective, Thursday April 25th

Whither Industrial Policy? The Future of Public Institutions and Economic Development

3-6 pm, Thursday April 25^th 2013
Institute of Bankers, 1 North Wall Quay, Dublin 1
Sponsored by NUI Maynooth (NIRSA/ Sociology) and UCD Geary Institute

Globalisation, regional economic clusters, open systems of innovation, financialisation, legal restrictions on state aid and a range of other factors appeared to have consigned industrial policy and the developmental state to history. However, as economies struggle to restore growth and seek models of sustainable prosperity, there is renewed interest in the role of public institutions in promoting industrial and regional development. Moreover, recent decades have seen significant experiments with new forms of ‘old’ institutions – ranging across the industrial development agencies of Israel and Taiwan, the state investment banks of Germany and Brazil and the diverse network of agencies promoting innovation in the US.

This workshop explores the new forms of industrial and innovation policy that have emerged in recent decades. It examines their distinctive features, limitations and potential and asks what futures there might be for a developmental role for public institutions.

3-4.20 Public Institutions, Innovation and Growth in the Knowledge Economy  

Chair: Seán Ó Riain, Sociology/ NIRSA, NUI Maynooth

Danny Breznitz, College of Business, Georgia Tech

“The Diverse Paths to Rapid-Innovation-Based Growth: The Strategic Role of the State”

Shiri Breznitz, School of Public Policy, Georgia Tech

“The Fountain of Knowledge? University Technology Transfer and Economic Development"

4.20-4.45 coffee

4.45-6 Round-table Discussion

The Role of the State in Development Strategies in a Changing Economic Landscape

Chair: Niamh Hardiman, Geary Institute and SPIRe, UCD

Short contributions from the following will be followed by discussion.

Seán Ó Riain, Sociology/ NIRSA, NUI Maynooth

Philip O'Connell, Geary Institute, UCD

Aphra Kerr, Sociology/ NIRSA, NUI Maynooth

Patrick Paul Walsh, School of Politics and International Relations, UCD

The workshop is funded by the European Research Council and the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences. It is sponsored by the ‘New Deals in the New Economy’ project at NUI Maynooth (NIRSA/ Sociology) and ‘The Political Economy of the European Periphery’ at UCD Geary Institute.

Registration is free but places are limited. To register please email geary@ucd.ie  with the subject line “Industrial Policy” before Monday April 22nd.

Information on Venue and Transport is available here