Historically, industrial policies have been fundamental for economic catching up and for closing the income gap between developing and developed countries. The big challenge is “how” to get the industrial policy process right. Industrial policies are not new to Latin America; however, reforms and the Washington Consensus during the 1980s and 90s pushed back market interventions of the state. Now, proactive and industrial policy is back and the paper provides the case for why industrial policy is necessary for Latin America. The new industrial policy in Latin America is different from the old industrial policies and some stylized characteristics of the New Industrial Policies in Latin America are presented. Particular attention is given to the policy process and the role of Public–Private Alliance Councils is discussed. While the new industrial policies exhibit encouraging characteristics, governance problems and the issue of developing a professional, capable and well-paid civil service remain.

Workshop on "Boosting economic dynamics and job growth: the potential of industrial policies" organized by the ILO and the Geneva Office of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) 4-5 March 2013.