La crisi, l’innovazione e lo Stato: su due libri di Mazzucato e Phelps

What makes for an innovative society?The relevance of this question is apparent as our societies are struggling to exit a deep economic crisis. Mariana Mazzucato (in her book The Entrepreneurial State) and Edmund Phelps (in his book Mass Flourishing) trace innovation back to very different sources: widespread government intervention, or culture. This paper reviews Mazzucato’s thesis and finds it unpersuasive. The evidence she provides doesn’t seem to support the idea that government can pick winners of the competitive game. Innovation in society is more likely to the the outcome of a complex process, than of industrial policies only.