Reducing Complexity in the Industrial Policy Debate

A central concern of industrial policy is how to configure the relationship with the global economy. The manifold choices and pressures make this a difficult task for policy‐makers. This article suggests a way of framing discussions between policy‐makers, advisers and researchers, to help reduce complexity and find common ground. It demonstrates how different constellations of low/high challenge and support bring out the essence of different policy regimes, and how different constellations of narrow/wide technology and marketing gaps help identify the most plausible way forward.