Germany

Germany has long been wary of direct economic intervention. Industrial policy has focused on horizontal measures, research, export orientation, and the “social market economy”. (p. 44)
Germany’s basic industrial policy principles accept that structural change is required for a dynamic economy and the government should promote change with a good business environment. (p. 45)
Germany has used development banks to support SMEs, export finance, international development, and funding for policy priorities like the energy transition; in the 1980s and 1990s, incentives, credit support, and subsidies to integrate East German industries into the economy. (p. 45)

United States

The US does not overtly embrace industrial policy, but a “hidden” developmental state exists in the defense sector and in state-support for technologies, R&D, and early-stage commercialization in the civilian sector. (p. 46)
The Cold War period was characterized by national security and space programs. In the 1970s to 1980s concerns over competition from Japan spurred funding to help firms survive from research to commercialization of technologies. (p. 46)
The 2000s saw support for energy innovations to combat climate change, while the 2010s focused on spurring advanced manufacturing with less public spending. (p. 46)
Since 2020 the US appears to be initiating a new period of intervention in response to the Covid pandemic and competition from China. (p. 47)

Brazil

Until the 1980s, Brazil pursued a state-led industrialization strategy that was derailed by the Latin American debt crisis of the 1980s. In the 1990s, Brazil pursued trade liberalization, market deregulation, and SOE privatization. (p. 47)
In the early 2000s, industrial policy returned to focus on incentives for strategic sectors, coordination of state and private resources, and attempts to weaken the exchange rate while protecting domestic markets. (p. 47)
Brazil has struggled with an unfavorable exchange rate spurred in part by the commodity price boom, which boosted Brazil’s agricultural and natural resources exports, but weakened the export competitiveness of Brazil’s manufactured goods. (p. 48)