n 1950 and 1990.
The close linkage of exports to economic growth is questioned by critics of neoclassical economics, such as the regulationist school, and by empirical evidence that booming exports do not always reduce unemployment. Marxists traditionally have noted the use of the state apparatus to promote the interests of domestic capitalists, and hold that such advocacy is strengthened in the new global policy environment that pushes states to adopt market-based and trade-centered policies. Additionally, most capitalist states now try to act as a buffer between their populations and the negative effects of global economic changes, whose impacts have differential effects by industrial sector and region. Instead of export-led growth, a national industrial strategy that relies to a large extent on domestic sources can be an alternative to the dominant export-oriented mode of development is followed by most of these countries.
An industrial policy attempts to provide an economic environment that either (1) supports industrial development generally, or (2) promotes the development of specific industries or sectors of an economy. Such a policy might include (1) tax incentives to support either investment or exports, (2) subsidiesùdirect or indirectùto industrial firms or industries, (3) protection against foreign competition, (4) worker training programs, (5) fundingùfull or participatingùfor research and development, (6) grants and loans to support (a) regional development, (b) the development of specific industries, or (c) small business, (7) export financing, (8) loans and loan underwriting to support (a) exports, (b) specific sectors of a domestic economy, or (c) specific firms, (9) price supports, and (10) anti-trust, and (11) related policies.
Increasing regional exclusiveness in international economic organization (the European Community, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Association of South East Asia...