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Industrial policy and competition

Philippe Aghion, Jing Cai, Mathias Dewatripont, Luosha Du, Ann Harrison and Patrick Legros


Using a comprehensive dataset of all medium and large enterprises in China between 1998 and 2007, we show that industrial policies allocated to competitive sectors or that foster competition in a sector increase productivity growth. We measure competition using the Lerner Index and include as industrial policies subsidies tax holidays, loans, and tariffs. Measures to foster competition include policies that are more dispersed across firms in a sector or measures that encourage younger and more productive enterprises.


1 July 2022


Published in Globalization, Firms, and Workers (2022), Ann E. Harrison and Keith E. Maskus, volume 81, pp. 349-380, World Scientific


Industrial policy and competition

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DOI: 10.1142/9789811239472_0015

This Chapter is part of the centre's Growth programme.