EN
The aim of the article is to provide a reflection on the role of industrial policy in st-imulating the processes of development and economic convergence. In the first place, there are presented the most important features of vision of economic development and convergence in terms of the two schools of economics: the mainstream and the evolutio-nary one. Then, it is demonstrated how specific ontological assumptions about the nature of economic processes lead to different views on the desired shape of industrial policy. While neoclassical economics focuses on preventing market failures, evolutionary eco¬nomics provides a realistic vision of development and a broader justification for the con¬duct of industrial policy.