The Babbage Forum: US Industrial Innovation Policy – Dr Robert Atkinson

The Babbage Forum: US Industrial Innovation Policy – Current and emerging approaches and priorities in the global context– Dr Robert Atkinson

On the 26th September 2023, the Babbage Forum brought together senior invited policymakers and academics from twelve countries to jointly explore industrial innovation policymaking in the context of a rapidly evolving global landscape.

Keynote presentations on the key global regions, Asia, China, Europe and USA were delivered including the current drivers, trends and concerns for industrial policymakers in a national and international context.

In this presentation, Dr Robert Atkinson provides an independent view of US industrial policymaking, reflecting on past industrial innovation policies and drawing parallels with the challenges faced during the Japan challenge in the 1980s and 90s. Highlighting the decline in U.S. manufacturing and productivity growth, particularly in comparison to China, Dr Atkinson explores concerns about the political dynamics influencing the focus on technology and industry as well as the broader trend of policy being driven by concerns about national security and geopolitical stability. Looking ahead at the challenges facing US policy he believes that there is a lack of a coherent national strategy and federal government capabilities for in-depth sectoral analysis and calls for a shift toward "national developmentalism," - a holistic approach that utilises state intervention to drive essential national goals.

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Dr Rob Atkinson, Founder and President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF)

Robert D. Atkinson is founder and president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the world’s leading think tank for science and technology policy. He is an internationally recognized scholar, a widely published author, and a trusted adviser to policymakers around the world, with expertise in the broad economics of innovation and specific policy and regulatory questions around new and emerging technologies.

Rob’s most recent book, co-authored with Michael Lind, is Big Is Beautiful: Debunking the Myth of Small Business. Before founding ITIF, Atkinson was Vice President of the Progressive Policy Institute and Director of PPI’s Technology & New Economy Project. He received his Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon and was named a distinguished alumnus in 2014. He received his Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1989.

Find out more: https://www.ciip.group.cam.ac.uk/what...