The Entrepreneurial State

Award-winning economist Mariana Mazzucato’s famously incisive international bestseller debunking the pervasive myth of the inept state versus an innovative private sector--with a new preface by the author According to conventional wisdom, innovation is best left to;the;bold entrepreneurs of;the;private sector, and government should get out of;the;way. But what if that wasn''t case? What if, from the inventions of Silicon Valley to medical breakthroughs,;the;public sector has actually been;the;most courageous and valuable risk-taker of all? Critically acclaimed and influential thinker and scholar Mariana Mazzucato argues comprehensively against the;myth of a lumbering, bureaucratic;state;versus a dynamic, innovative private sector with remarkable original and deep research. In a series of case studies--from nanotechnology to the emerging green tech of today--Mazzucato reveals that;the;opposite is true:;the;private sector only finds;the;courage to invest after an entrepreneurial;state;has made;the;high-risk investments. In;the;history of modern capitalism, the;State;has not only fixed market failures, but has also actively shaped and created markets. In doing so, it sometimes wins and sometimes fails. Yet by not admitting;the;State’s role in active risk taking, we''ve created an "innovation system" where the public sector socializes risks while privatizing reward, as Mazzucato controversially argues. This bold and provocative book considers how we adopted this dysfunctional dynamic, and then how we can overcome it so that economic growth can be not only "smart" but "inclusive" as well.

Auteur
Mariana Mazzucato, PhD, is professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London, where she directs the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Her bestselling books include The Big Con, The Value of Everything, and Mission Economy. Her many prizes include the 2020 John von Neumann Award and the 2018 Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. She is chair of the World Health Organization’s Council on the Economics of Health for All and a member of the United Nation’s High Level Advisory Board for Economic and Social Affairs.