This volume investigates the efficacy and necessity of state intervention in industrial sectors as a mechanism for fostering economic development. The editors, Giovanni Dosi, Joseph E. Stiglitz, and Mario Cimoli, leverage their extensive expertise in evolutionary economics and development theory to challenge the prevailing orthodoxy of the Washington Consensus. By synthesizing theoretical critiques with empirical evidence, the authors argue that strategic state involvement is often a prerequisite for structural transformation and long-term industrial growth.

Experts recognize this collection as a significant contribution to the discourse on development economics, particularly for its rigorous challenge to standard market-fundamentalist views. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, making it a text best suited for scholars and policymakers familiar with advanced economic theory.