The Entrepreneurial State. Debunking Myths About the Public and Private Sectors. Mariana Mazzucato

We are accustomed to considering the state as a bureaucratic burden, and private business as the main source of innovation. Mariana Mazzucato convincingly proves that this is a dangerous illusion. It is the public sector that often becomes the most daring investor and driver of technological progress.

Mazzucato insists that the state does not simply correct market failures - it creates new markets. The Internet, GPS, touch screens - key technologies that make the modern smartphone "smart" - appeared thanks to public investment. Agencies such as DARPA, NIH and NASA have funded the riskiest research in the fields of IT, biotechnology and green energy for decades. Only after that did technology companies and pharmaceutical giants enter the game, receiving the main share of the profits.

"The Entrepreneurial State" is one of the most influential books on the economics of innovation. For Ukraine, where relations between business and government have long since turned into total hostility, the experience of other countries described in the book can become a practical guideline. And at the same time, an invitation to an ambitious discussion: what should the Ukrainian state be like tomorrow?