Strategic sectors and essential jobs: a taxonomy for industrial policies

To overcome the undesirably broad degree of discretion that policy makers currently have in choosing between alternative definitions of the key sectors to be targeted by industrial policies, we propose a new sectoral taxonomy that groups sectors according to three specific attributes. The first attribute is technological potential, namely the knowledge and opportunity pathways of industries that are embedding cumulative learning regimes, economies of scale and scope, and disruptive technological and organizational innovations. The second attribute is employment potential, namely the potential to create jobs, measured via employment multipliers derived from Input–Output analysis. The third attribute is how essential are the needs satisfied, with specific reference to those sectors meant at the provision of global commons (e.g. healthcare, social services, education), and that are subject to the process of progressive privatization. We conclude by proposing an agenda for industrial policy in Italy, identifying three specific sectors of intervention, namely the pharmaceutical, automotive and care sectors.