皇家华人

The meaning, rationale, context and objectives of industrial policy seem to have changed so that the old views on industrial policy have become a kind of straw man, masking rather than revealing its challenges. The experimentalist nature of new industrial policy approaches and the globalized context in which they are implemented call for new forms of governance which seems to be incompatible with traditional perspectives on state and industrial policy. Besides, the boundaries of industrial policy have become indistinguishable from innovation policy, FDI and other productive capacities enhancing policies (skills and training, education, trade, etc.).聽

The current situation calls for a re-examination of the past policy approaches within their historical context, and an assessment of the newly emerging approaches. The workshop is prompted by a new book edited by Slavo Radosevic, Adrian Curaj, Radu Gheorghiu, Liviu Andreescu and Imogen Wade (eds)(2017) Advances in the Theory and Practice of Smart Specialization, Elsevier Science Publishers, which explores using a comparative perspective the EU鈥檚 Smart Specialization policy as an example of what is probably the biggest experiment in innovation policy in the world today.

The workshop aims to further our understanding of the challenges in design, objectives, and implementation of industrial policies as they relate to different political economies of state in which different policy approaches are implemented. The focus is on European peripheral and catching up economies.

In the post-2008 period, the EU has ceased to operate as a 鈥榗onvergence machine鈥�, and gaps have been opening in the EU as well as in the wider Europe. The increased international and regional integration have led to divergent developments between European core and periphery economies as well as to polarisations between Central Europe, EU South and Eastern and South Eastern Europe. It seems that the increasing divergences cannot be resolved by macroeconomic policies and the current situation requires the use of industrial policy. However, the institutional preconditions for its use are very often non-existent.

EU New member states are recipients of Structural Funds, a large part of which is given through smart specialization framework as a new form of industrial innovation policy. Its use in EU periphery and catching up regions is faced with challenges, notably institutional setup. Besides, the tension between place-based approaches that characterise EU regional policy and the increased need for global value chains oriented industrial policy is not resolved. In summary, applying new approaches in industrial and innovation policy in EU periphery and catching up economies requires rethinking. In particular, the conflict between the EU postulate of a 鈥榣evel playing field鈥� and the heterogeneity of development and technological levels of different EU economies poses challenges for the design and feasibility of such policies. A diverse range of speakers who are at the frontiers of new thinking about industrial and innovation policy in Europe should hopefully further our understanding on the new issues of agreement and contention.

Program

10.20-10.30 Opening Elodie Douarin, Director Centre for Comparative Study of Emerging Economies, UCL SSEES

Session I

Chair: Federica Birbeck College

10.30-11.00 Slavo Radosevic, UCL SSEES 鈥楢ssessing EU Smart Specialization Policy in a Comparative Perspective鈥�

11.00-11.30 Lena Tsipouri, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens: 鈥業ndustrial policy interventions and startup dynamics in LFRs鈥�

11.30-12.00 Rainer Kattel, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IPP) 鈥業nnovation (policy) and transformative change in the European Union鈥�

12.00-12.30 Riccardo Crescenzi, London School of Economics (LSE), 鈥淢ultinational Enterprises, FDI and innovation in less developed regions鈥�

12.30-12.50 Peter Berkowitz, Head of Unit G1 鈥� Smart and Sustainable Growth, DG for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission, 鈥淪mart specialisation in less developed regions: what have we learnt from implementation?"

12.50-13.30 Lunch

Session II

Chair: Peter Berkowitz, European Commission

13.30-14.00 Imogen Wade, UCL SSEES, 鈥楲essons for a Policy Maker from Real-Life. Self-Discovery in Economies with Weak Institutions鈥�

14.00-14.30 Blair Lapres (World Bank 鈥� Europe and Central Asia), 鈥淚mplementing smart specialization: a case study鈥�

14.30-15.00 Olga Bolibok, Innovation and Industry development Project manager, Reforms Delivery Office, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, 鈥淐hallenges of design and implementation of industrial and innovation policies in Ukraine鈥�

15.00-15.30 Coffee break

Session III

15.30-17.30 Panel: The scope and challenges for industrial/innovation policy in the European periphery

Chair: Simona Iaammarino, London School of Economics

Anwar Aridi, World Bank (Innovation Specialist, Europe and Central Asia unit)

Daniele Archibugi, National Research Council Rome and Birkbeck College London

Peter Sanfey, Deputy Director for Country Economics and Policy within the Department of Economics, Policy and Governance at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)聽

Robert Wade, London School of Economics (LSE), Escaping the periphery: lesson from East Asia for European periphery

Anthony Bartzokas, Member of Board of Directors, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)聽

17.30-18.00 Discussion

Moderator: Slavo Radosevic

Registration is free but essential via