“We haven’t really understood the power of the state,” argues economist Mariana Mazzucato, warning that this has impacted the rising inequality in wealth creation and distribution. Mariana and Azeem Azhar discuss the role of government in innovation and business growth, risk-taking as the new mentality of bureaucracy, and how the benefits of entrepreneurial innovation have been misread. Above all, the case is made for a new theory of value in today’s economy.

In this conversation, Mariana and Azeem also discuss:

• The role of the entrepreneurial state: moving away from the concept of the state as a facilitator and towards the state as an actor in the future of public-serving innovation.
• Why the GDP model is flawed — but why we should retain it as one of several economic indicators.
• Creeping privatization of the ‘data economy.’

Further Reading:

• “Yes, Government Creates Wealth” (September 2018)
• “Let’s make private data into a public good” (June 27, 2018)
• “Rethinking the Smart City” (January 2018)
• “The unlikely tech giant empowering citizens through data” (March 12, 2019)
• “Strategic design for public purpose” (March 8, 2019)

Mariana Mazzucato @MazzucatoM