A mission-oriented approach to building the entrepreneurial state

Countries around the world are seeking smart, sustainable growth. This paper argues that if they are to succeed they must put innovation at the heart of growth policy. However, the current debate is hampered by a limited economic framework - Market Failure Theory - traditionally used by policy makers worldwide. According to this theory, government should take a back seat and simply create the ‘conditions’ for innovation - establishing a playing field but allowing the playing itself to be done by the dynamic business community. The state may be permitted to invest in limited areas that are characterised by ‘market failures’, but should not get too involved in the direction of change itself. This is summed up by the overused phrase -“Governments can’t pick winners”

An entrepreneurial society needs an entrepreneurial state

Innovation-led growth can square a circle that is challenging modern capitalism: how to generate sustained and sustainable economic growth, built on high-value, well-paying jobs. This is at the core of entrepreneurial societies, and it is a good objective. The problem is how to get there

From market fixing to market-creating: a new framework for innovation policy

Many countries are pursuing innovation-led “smart” growth, which requires long-run strategic investments and public policies that aim to create and shape markets, rather than just “fixing” markets or systems. Market creation has characterized the kind of mission-oriented investments that led to putting a man on the moon and are currently galvanizing green innovation. Mission-oriented innovation has required public agencies to not only “de-risk” the private sector, but also to lead the direct creation of new technological opportunities and market landscapes. This paper considers four key issues that arise from a market-creating framework for policy: (1) decision-making on the direction of change; (2) the nature of (public and private) organizations that can welcome the underlying uncertainty and discovery process; (3) the evaluation of mission-oriented and market- creation policies; and (4) the ways in which both risks and rewards can be shared so that smart growth can also result in inclusive growth

Smart and inclusive growth: reforming the risk-reward nexus in innovation

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Innovation policy as creating markets, not only fixing them: implications for complexity theory

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Smart and inclusive growth

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Innovation, the state and patient capital

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High cost of new drugs

Why Government must negotiate a better deal for publicly funded research

Special issue: finance, innovation and growth: reforming a dysfunctional system

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From market-fixing to market-creating: a new framework for economic policy

Many countries are pursuing innovation-led ‘smart’ growth, which requires certain types of long-run strategic investments. This paper argues that such investments require public policies that aim to create markets, rather than just ‘fixing’ market failures (or system failures). Such ‘mission-oriented’ investments have led to men walking on the moon (which created spillovers across the economy) and are today catalyzing investments to tackle climate change around the world. In the two above mentioned cases, public agencies not only ‘de-risked’ the private sector, but also led the way in terms of shaping and creating new technological opportunities and market landscapes. Only then was the private sector willing to invest. This paper considers four key questions that arise from a ‘market creating’ framework: (1) decision-making on the direction of change; (2) the nature of (public and private) organizations that can welcome the underlying uncertainty and discovery process; (3) the evaluation of mission oriented and market-creation policies; and (4) the ways in which both risks and rewards can be shared so that ‘smart’ innovation-led growth can also result in ‘inclusive’ growth