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CHAPTER 13:<br />

INDUSTRIAL POLICY<br />

The term “Industrial policy” describes the<br />

government’s supporting of particular firms or<br />

industries to make them more competitive in the<br />

global economy. The post–World War II successes of the<br />

Japanese and South Korean economies have often been<br />

credited to an industrial policy that picks potential winners<br />

in the global marketplace and supports them through<br />

subsidies, favorable loan arrangements, tax benefits, and<br />

more direct benefits such as the use of eminent domain to<br />

provide them with land for their facilities. Industrial policy<br />

does not end in “ism,” but it is no stretch to call industrial<br />

policy “favoritism” because it favors some firms or<br />

industries over others.<br />

Post–World War II industrial policy began with<br />

Japan’s desire to catch up with the developed world<br />

through state-planned industrial development in the<br />

aftermath of World War II. The economic planning<br />

boards created by the supreme commander for the Allied<br />

Powers (SCAP) during the US military occupation of<br />

Japan planted the seeds of Japan’s industrial policy.<br />

The US occupation fundamentally changed the existing<br />

political institutions in Japan and rolled out radical<br />

INDUSTRIAL POLICY 93

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