An evolutionary-institutionalist framework for interpreting industry policy: the case of Australia, 1942-2022
Field | Value | Language |
dc.contributor.author | Thomas, Russell | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2025-07-11T05:48:34Z | |
dc.date.available | 2025-07-11T05:48:34Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2025 | en_AU |
dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/2123/34098 | |
dc.description.abstract | This thesis develops a new interpretive framework for analyzing the evolution of industry policy, addressing the limitations of approaches based on neoclassical economics and international relations. Drawing on Institutional Economics — particularly the Regulation-Social Structure of Accumulation approach and evolutionary economics — it examines Australian industry policy across three key periods: post-World War II reconstruction (1942–73), structural adjustment and liberalisation (1974–98), and energy transformation and securitisation (1999–2022). It identifies economic and political instabilities driving policy change, including balance of payments constraints, sectoral and regional misalignments, national security concerns, technology gaps, and inequality. It explores how these were managed through institutional mechanisms such as industry assistance bodies, arbitration tribunals, and trade and defence diplomacy. Industry policies are categorised into six strategies: access-attract, stabilise-redistribute, diversify-upgrade, defend-securitise, innovate-compete, and pioneer-structure. The thesis highlights the path-dependent effects of earlier policies on later challenges. For example, tariff reliance in the mid-20th century complicated reforms in the 1970s–80s. Integration with North-East Asia in the 1990s introduced new vulnerabilities, while trade liberalisation and resource dependence in the 2000s created barriers to clean energy transition. Recent stagnation in income and economic complexity has driven renewed defend-securitise strategies. Rejecting normative evaluations of policy efficiency, the study explains industry policy as a structural response to systemic instability. The Australian case shows how strategies evolve under distinct historical conditions, offering insights for comparative research in international political economy and industrial transformation. | en_AU |
dc.language.iso | en | en_AU |
dc.subject | industry policy | en_AU |
dc.subject | institutional economics | en_AU |
dc.subject | political economy | en_AU |
dc.subject | economic instability | en_AU |
dc.subject | Australia | en_AU |
dc.subject | industrial transformation | en_AU |
dc.title | An evolutionary-institutionalist framework for interpreting industry policy: the case of Australia, 1942-2022 | en_AU |
dc.type | Thesis | |
dc.type.thesis | Doctor of Philosophy | en_AU |
dc.rights.other | The author retains copyright of this thesis. It may only be used for the purposes of research and study. It must not be used for any other purposes and may not be transmitted or shared with others without prior permission. | en_AU |
usyd.faculty | SeS faculties schools::Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences::School of Social and Political Sciences | en_AU |
usyd.department | Discipline of Political Economy | en_AU |
usyd.degree | Doctor of Philosophy Ph.D. | en_AU |
usyd.awardinginst | The University of Sydney | en_AU |
usyd.advisor | Chester, Lynne |
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