ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the most consistent accumulative logic shaping US climate policy over the years, the federal government's drive for dominance in high-tech markets. It establishes the strength and influence of this logic, and trace its effect on federal climate policy over the past quarter century. The chapter argues that this institutional logic has given rise to a form of climate policy that is highly interventionist, but which has nevertheless been forced to struggle against neoliberalism's anti-regulatory bent. The neoliberal era that saw the developmental state achieve full maturity and influence as part of an effort to promote accumulation, economic growth, and American competitiveness. The approach by the Reagan administration and Congress to innovation policy was influenced by the one issue that worries every elected official within the state – unemployment and economic stagnation. The neoliberal period thus proves to be a critical point in the evolution of the American developmental state.
