Great point on solar. I have been arguing for decades that the federal government needs to jump start making every home and building in America solar where the sunshine warrants it, for national security reasons tied to weaning us from non-US oil. Now we can't without making China rich as the main solar panel exporter. Your mercantilism points are long overdue to return as mainstream modern global conomy thinking.
Fair minded critique of Summers and Zoellick. Also, unlike say Bob Lighthizer, Clyde doesn’t shy away from the mercantilist label. But this shouldn’t be an exercise in name calling. China has skillfully used industrial policy to advance, as did Japan. So has the US, often via the Pentagon and its predecessors. This isn’t just simply a question of who offers the biggest subsidies. Completion needs to be a big part of the equation. Otherwise industrial policy becomes just another lobbying trough.
Great point on solar. I have been arguing for decades that the federal government needs to jump start making every home and building in America solar where the sunshine warrants it, for national security reasons tied to weaning us from non-US oil. Now we can't without making China rich as the main solar panel exporter. Your mercantilism points are long overdue to return as mainstream modern global conomy thinking.
Fair minded critique of Summers and Zoellick. Also, unlike say Bob Lighthizer, Clyde doesn’t shy away from the mercantilist label. But this shouldn’t be an exercise in name calling. China has skillfully used industrial policy to advance, as did Japan. So has the US, often via the Pentagon and its predecessors. This isn’t just simply a question of who offers the biggest subsidies. Completion needs to be a big part of the equation. Otherwise industrial policy becomes just another lobbying trough.
Yes. Agreed. The industrial policy has to be carefully planned, controlled, and managed over a considerable period. Clyde