Mazzucato, Mariana;
(2025)
Mission-oriented policy: from fixing markets to shaping markets and debunking myths about the state.
Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society
, Article rsaf024. 10.1093/cjres/rsaf024.
(In press).
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Abstract
The debate on industrial policy in economics has shifted from whether or not governments should pursue it to how they should do so. Today, the question is not whether we should have industrial policy, but what kind of industrial policy (for example, Bailey et al., 2015; Mazzucato, 2018a, 2021; Juhasz et al., 2023). A mission-oriented approach to industrial strategy departs from the traditional focus on sectors. It focuses on challenges that all sectors need to adapt to—such as public health or the digital divide—and thus can catalyse cross-sectoral investment, and in the process direct growth—a function of investment. Missions focus on reorienting the verticals so it is not sectors, firms or technologies that are chosen ex ante, but rather challenges that require sectoral transformation, firm investment and technological change (Mazzucato, 2018a). At the same time, they depend on horizontal enablers like education, skills and training. Mission-oriented industrial policy is grounded in a different theoretical framework than traditional approaches. It is not about ‘fixing markets’ but about shaping and creating them (Mazzucato, 2016). It is about rethinking the state as being a key actor in wealth creation as an ‘entrepreneurial state’ that acts as an investor of first resort (Mazzucato, 2013). In this short comment, I look at the design of mission-oriented industrial strategy, its implications for institutions and tools, public–private partnerships and state capacity, while addressing common myths that prevent missions from working.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Mission-oriented policy: from fixing markets to shaping markets and debunking myths about the state |
| DOI: | 10.1093/cjres/rsaf024 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1093/cjres/rsaf024 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author-accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Mission-oriented policies, Public-Private Partnerships, Social Sciences, State Capacity |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > Inst for Innovation and Public Purpose |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10216819 |
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