Industrial Policy in Austria: From Selective Intervention to a More Systematic Approach

Industrial policy is a controversial but necessary part of economic policy. In its early stages, it consisted mainly of sectoral interventions. It then evolved into a broader competitiveness policy driven by horizontal policies. Nowadays it is a mixture of mainly horizontal and of complementary sectoral measures (the so-called matrix approach of the European Union). In general, industrial policy has changed from an isolated policy to a systemic concept which combines innovation, training and other areas of economic policy ("New Systemic Industrial Policy"). As a result of the crisis, but also as part of a national extension to the globalisation of the economy, industrial policy is becoming more important.