Books, Arts & Manners: The Right Books

As the balance-of-trade figures continue to swing against the American economy, the industrial-policy debate continues apace. Half a year or so ago Kevin Phillips, the populistconservative author and commentator, published a book in which he attempted to steal the issue from the leftist precincts in which it had arisen (cf. “Reconstructing America,” by Felix Rohatyn, The New York Review of Books, March 5, 1981). Among the most recent contributions to the controversy is High-Technology Policies: A Five-Nation Comparison (American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1150 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; $4.95), written by Professor Richard R. Nelson of Yale University under the aegis of the AEI’s Competing in a Changing World Economy project. Although the book is intentionally narrow in focus, Nelson’s questions are pertinent and his answers have real significance.

Is it a strong economic advantage to a country, Nelson asks, to be blessed with healthy high-technology industry? What is the relationship between the dynamics of an economy and its hightechnology sector? And finally: Which types of government-designed neomercantilist programs have been successful in forwarding high-tech growth, and which have merely got in the way? “Like the private-enterprise part of the system,” Nelson observes, “the governmental part is variegated. Government has played various roles, with different purposes, and the magnitude and structure of the government role have varied significantly from industry to industry. Given the objectives, some of the policies and programs have been very effective. There have been, however, several fiascos.”

CW

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Chilton Williamson Jr.

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As the balance-of-trade figures continue to swing against the American economy, the industrial-policy debate continues apace. Half a year or so ago Kevin Phillips, the populistconservative author and commentator, published a book in which he attempted to steal the issue from the leftist precincts in which it had arisen (cf. “Reconstructing America,” by Felix Rohatyn, The New York Review of Books, March 5, 1981). Among the most recent contributions to the controversy is High-Technology Policies: A Five-Nation Comparison (American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1150 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; $4.95), written by Professor Richard R. Nelson of Yale University under the aegis of the AEI’s Competing in a Changing World Economy project. Although the book is intentionally narrow in focus, Nelson’s questions are pertinent and his answers have real significance.

Is it a strong economic advantage to a country, Nelson asks, to be blessed with healthy high-technology industry? What is the relationship between the dynamics of an economy and its hightechnology sector? And finally: Which types of government-designed neomercantilist programs have been successful in forwarding high-tech growth, and which have merely got in the way? “Like the private-enterprise part of the system,” Nelson observes, “the governmental part is variegated. Government has played various roles, with different purposes, and the magnitude and structure of the government role have varied significantly from industry to industry. Given the objectives, some of the policies and programs have been very effective. There have been, however, several fiascos.”