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Sorry – the page you are looking for has been removed Exploring the work of a senior academic
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This is because it was advertisement feature content that was published as part of a commercial deal and funded by an advertiser. Professor Mariana Mazzucato holds the RM Phillips chair in the economics of innovation in the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex and is author of The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Private vs. Public Sector Myths, one of the Financial Times 2013 books of the year. She is winner of the New Statesman/SPERI prize in political economy and in 2013 the New Republic called her one of the three most important thinkers about innovation.
It is Guardian News and Media policy to take down paid-for content at the end of these deals. She advises policy-makers around the world on innovation-led growth and is a member of the Scottish government’s council of economic advisors, a commissioner for the World Economic Forum on the economics of innovation and a permanent member of the European Commission’s group on innovation for growth – Research, Innovation, and Science Policy Experts (RISE).
Click here for more on our commercial content guidelines. You have worked at universities around the world. What made you choose to come to Sussex?
If you want to contact someone about the page, you can email: I came to Sussex because SPRU, where I’m based, is one of the top centres in the world for an interdisciplinary study of the effects of science and technology on innovation dynamics and economic growth. It is both interdisciplinary and rigorous and is the place where some of concepts I’m talking about in my work, like national systems of innovation and technological paradigms and trajectories, originated in the first place. Since it was founded, SPRU has been a hub of different ideas that have been pathbreaking. It’s wonderful to be working with such a great team of smart, fun people on Sussex’s gorgeous campus on the South Downs.
paid-content@theguardian.com Tell us about your work
To continue reading, please visit the Guardian’s home page. My research focuses on the relationship between financial markets, innovation and economic growth at the company, industry and national level. It’s a fundamental re-think of how policy-makers approach economic growth, at both the micro and macro level. In particular, how to drive “smart” innovation-led growth, which also tackles the most dysfunctional aspect of today’s capitalism: rising inequality.
To do so, it is not enough to make tax systems work in a more re-distributive way – we need to fundamentally re-think how we talk about wealth creation in the first place. Ignoring the key role of the state – and hence the taxpayer – in wealth creation has been a lead cause of inequality, allowing some actors to reap a rate of return way beyond their actual contribution. In other words, it is not only the financial sector that has socialised risks and privatised rewards – this is just as true of the “innovation economy”. And both must be reformed.
My recent book, The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Private vs. Public Sector Myths, challenges the image of the lethargic, regulating state versus the dynamic business sector. I use historical examples to show how some of the most high-risk and courageous investments that led to revolutions in IT, biotechnology and nanotechnology were sparked by public sector institutions. It offers a new way of thinking about political economy in the 21st century.
What impact is your work having internationally?
I advise policy-makers around the world on how to achieve economic growth that is both “smart” – innovation led – and more inclusive. In recent times I’ve advised and given talks to public agencies and policy-makers in countries including Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the UK and the USA. In the UK I’ve been talking to politicians across the political spectrum – David Willetts, the former UK universities and science minister, has talked about how my work persuaded the government to shift its approach in supporting innovation, although I think they haven’t done enough. Vince Cable, the UK business secretary, has also spoken about my influence on the government’s thinking. The Labour party, too, has just cited my work in their recent pre-election economic strategy.
How do you think your work will develop in the next few years?
I have a number of research projects underway. I’m thrilled to have been recently awarded a new grant from the EU’s Horizon 2020 initiative for a new collaborative project that seeks to bring finance back to serving the real economy instead of destroying it.
My work on mission-oriented finance for innovation is continuing with the launch of a new book I’ve co-edited with Caetano Penna, Mission-Oriented Finance for Innovation: New Ideas for Investment-Led Growth, published in collaboration with Policy Network. It gathers the experiences of leaders of mission-oriented agencies from around the world alongside contributions from Vince Cable and leading economists. It really shows what’s missing from our current debate about the economy – too much talk about cutting debts and deficits and not enough about what governments should actually spend money on to generate future growth.
I’ve also signed a deal with Penguin for my new book, The Value of Everything. It will set out why any attack on the current economic system, a system based on value extraction, needs to be based on a proper theory of value creation.
What do you most enjoy about what you do?
The hugs. I’ve found there’s a real thirst from politicians and policy-makers for a different narrative about economic growth. I get a lot of satisfaction from being able to quench that thirst. So often I meet people working in the public sector around the world who are depressed about the prevailing narrative of government as bureaucratic, lethargic and lacking in dynamism. And I talk about the state – in its multiple forms and activities – in a totally different way. It makes them feel better and quite often they hug me.
Read more about Mariana Mazzucato’s research at the University of Sussex