The “Made in China 2025” industrial policy both provoked a trade war and inspired similar moves by other major economies, including the United States. But has it worked? Lee Branstetter (Carnegie Mellon University) joins to explain. Part 1 (02:14) describes various reasons why governments subsidize their industries. Part 2 (08:26) explores the long history of China’s state planning, and the evidence on whether the Chinese government has effectively picked winners with its subsidies. Part 3 (17:58) zooms in on the highly controversial Made in China 2025 policy that Chinese President Xi Jinping introduced in 2015. Given the impact of Made in China 2025, part 4 (27:47) discusses policy implications for China as well as its trading partners (Total: 44:08).

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• Lee G. Branstetter, Guangwei Li and Mengjia Ren. 2022. Picking Winners? Government Subsidies and Firm Productivity in China. NBER Working Paper No. 30,699, December.
• Lee G. Branstetter and Guangwei Li. 2022. Does “Made in China 2025” Work for China? Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms. NBER Working Paper No. 30,676, November.