Dirigisme is an economy in which the government exerts strong directive influence. It designates a mainly capitalist economy with strong directive, as opposed to merely regulatory, economic participation by the state.

Most modern economies can be characterized as dirigiste to some degree – for instance, state economic action may be exercised through subsidizing research and developing new technologies, or through government procurement, especially military (i.e. a form of mixed economy). Since the late 1980s, the economy of the People's Republic of China can be described as a a dirigiste economy, as it is a heavily state-directed market economy.

Dirigisme is from the French. In English it is also "dirigism", although both spellings are used by the OED.

Before the Second World War, France had a relatively fragmented capitalist economic system. The many small companies, often family-owned, were often not dynamic and efficient^{[citation needed]} in comparison to the large industrial groups in Germany or the United States.