This is CBS Eye on the World.

Here's John Batchelor.

I welcome Veronique to Reggie of the Mercatus Center,

who is my guide on American policy for the government and for the people, which is why I come to her with a special

invitation to help me understand a new book, very popular at 865 pages.

I have the Kindle edition so I can talk and look at it at the same time, otherwise it would

break my lap.

Industrial policy for the United States, winning the competition for good jobs and high-value

industries.

Veronica, very good evening to you.

This is written by Mark Fasdow and Ian Fletcher, who are described as professional commentators.

At the same time, I'm learning industrial policy for the ages.

It is a term of art that you economists all use routinely, but it's new to me.

What is industrial policy?

Is there one definition that's helpful to understand this 865-page book?

Well, good evening, John.

I guess the best, most succinct way of talking about industrial policy is basically it's a government effort to shape the structure of a country's economy by favoring or propping up certain industry sector

technology over other ones.

So basically it's pretty much, it's pretty much like a bottom up, hands down, like way of trying to restructure the economy in the way that the central planners like better than the one we have now.

And the tools of industrial policies are many, but I guess they can be like their broad categories.

There's subsidies, sex break, you know, loan guaranteed type things for targeted industries.

Their tariffs, quotas, all the protectionist game.

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