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Mariana Mazzucato
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The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths Paperback – October 27, 2015

by Mariana Mazzucato (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 756 ratings
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The world's most popular products, from the iPhone to Google Search, were funded not by private companies, but the taxpayer.

In this sharp and controversial international bestseller, an award-winning economist debunks the pervasive myth that the government is sluggish and inept, and at odds with a dynamic private sector. She reveals in detailed case studies that the opposite is true: the state is, and has been, our boldest and most valuable innovator. Denying this history is leading us down the wrong path. A select few get credit for what is an intensely collective effort, and the US government has started disinvesting from innovation. The repercussions could stunt economic growth and increase inequality. Mazzucato teaches us how to reverse this trend before it is too late.
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  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    PublicAffairs
  4. Publication date
    October 27, 2015
  5. Dimensions
    5.45 x 1 x 8.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1610396138
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1610396134
  8. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
756 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

E D
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and important
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2016
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Mazzucato sheds light on the little talked about and often underestimated role that governments play in innovation. Her overall messages - that the state makes keystone contributions to the innovation process across industries and that the rewards of this innovation accrue largely to the private sector - add a new perspective on a number of public debates. It's an enriching read.

But do not expect a comprehensive treatise on the balance between public and private sector participation in innovation. Mazzucato focuses largely on how the state drives innovation. She is careful not to dismiss the importance of businesses, and in the case of Apple she concedes the company deserves credit for the innovative way it integrated various technologies in a well designed and marketed product. But what I missed in this book is a model of how innovation occurs that could help us understand more precisely the interplay between the actors and their relative contributions. This is not to say the book is unfair or imbalanced. I simply see it as the first volume in a new, more nuanced public discussion on innovation that Mazzucato aims to launch with her book.

Mazzucato is a clear writer and the book is exceptionally accessible, even though Mazzucato is an academic. What irked me though is that she is at times repetitive. Perhaps you couldn't blame her for trying to drive home her message given how underrepresented it is in public discourse.
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kurimi
5.0 out of 5 stars Rich in case studies but reads as US-centric
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2020
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I enjoyed the examples and laws cited in this book, which argues that the state’s role in economy is not solely as a regulator or remedy for market/allocation failures. It provides justification for why more states should sink their teeth deeper into the economy, with some good counter-examples and examples that debunk popular myths about innovation. I particularly enjoyed the the elaboration of why and how Apple was able to revolutionise mobile consumer electronics.

However, I did find some rebuttals lean (if not weak) as a reader with basic economics knowledge and would have appreciated footnotes or references at those points. I also would have appreciated a more meaty the “solutions” segment including examples from state investment in countries like Japan (mentioned elsewhere but not in this section), China, and Singapore.

A worthy read, but written to debunk the ideology of libertarian Americans. In my part of the world (East and Southeast Asia), where the appetite and political will for state capitalism is greater, encouraging innovation may require a markedly different approach than the policies recommended.
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Karthik Sekar
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and well-argued points. Too long
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2019
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Mariana casts the government as an important actor in technological innovation. She argues strongly and clearly that the government should not just be a mediator who corrects market failures; instead, the government does and should invest directly into technologies that take a while to bear fruit (>5 years). She highlights many interesting examples (e.g. Apple, computing) and offers actionable directives for green energy.

Largely, I enjoyed this book, but it's too long. It gets awfully repetitive. It could have easily been 1/3 to 1/2 the length while making the same strong points. That said, I still recommend it to anyone interested in the topic.
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Michael A. Kalm
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important books ever - Especially now!
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2019
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I first learned about this book when I heard an hourlong podcast where Mariana Mazzucato, the author, is interviewed by Stella Creasy who is a London School of Economics trained Labour Party member of parliament, about Mazzucato's research findings and policy proposals.
Lately, we have been hearing some bold proposals about a Green New Deal. Many have dismissed this idea as pie in the sky. Some have supported it as crucially necessary to the survival of the planet, but have been vague as to how to actually bring this about. Well, Mariana Mazzucato, Chair in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value, and Director of the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose at University College, London, addressed this very issue in her 2015 book, "The Entrepreneurial State." She points out that our current economy is built around fossil fuels, and that to address climate change will require a large restructuring of our basic economy. This will include building new Public-Private partnerships, and innovation that will create new jobs, new security and repair infrastructure. To accomplish this, we first have to let go of false myths we hold about the responsibility as well as the competence of the state. Mazzucato does a superb job of debunking those myths in this book. While parts of the book are fairly dense, even a non-economist like me can understand most of her points. This is a must read by anyone interested in saving the planet and by all policy makers.
18 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2016
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Too repetitive
3 people found this helpful
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Chip Hauss
5.0 out of 5 stars A Provocative Public Policy Read
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2015
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I'm writing this the day after the third Republican presidential debate. I doubt any of the candidates read The Entrepreneurial State, but they should have.

This book debunks plenty of myths, most notably that keeping government "out" of the economy is the best way to stimulate growth in three key ways.

First, it demonstrates the ways in which national governments have contributed to the success of today's iconic companies, including my beloved Apple.

Second, it shows that far from "picking winners" improperly as politicians claim, public/private partnerships provide leadership for key sectors of the economy, whether that be national security (where it has been most pronounced) to environmental security (where it is arguably most needed).

Third, it makes the case for an economy based on partnerships in which the state and the private sector share both the risks and the rewards for economic innovation.

I would have liked the book to go even farther and look at the role such partnerships could/should play in an interdependent networked economic system, but it does enough to warrant a read by just about anyone interested in social change, including a peacebuilder like me.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in Canada on November 26, 2023
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I bought this book for a class and I thought it would be boring, I was pleasantly surprised that is not the case, is very engaging and critical about the topic.
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Ciro Linhares
5.0 out of 5 stars Um novo paradigma
Reviewed in Brazil on May 10, 2023
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Este livro foi responsável por modificar - lê-se melhorar - a forma pela qual enxergo a relação do Estado e o mercado.
Quem diria, o mercado e seus atores andam vendendo uma imagem de autonomia e até superioriedade para com o Estado, mas, ao observar os fatos recentes e históricos, não é isso que se evidencia. Na verdade, o mercado é mais um fenômeno jurídico e, por conseguinte, gestado pelo Estado, do que um fenômeno autônomo.
Isso tudo é escancarado com maestria pela Autora Mazzucato! ÓTIMA LEITURA!!
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Amazon Customer
2.0 out of 5 stars Political biased book, badly written
Reviewed in India on May 11, 2024
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It almost felt the conclusions were predrawn, there is no presentation of research ( citations dominated by their own papers)

There is cherry picking it examples, stories get dropped where the continuation of story doesn't suit the author.

I agree that there is a scope for debating the role of government in research, but this book is a political manifesto and not a work of quality academia!
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Ramón P.
5.0 out of 5 stars Libro indispensable para todo economista del siglo XXI
Reviewed in Spain on August 4, 2020
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El libro está muy bien estructurado. La autora defiende el aspecto teórico de su teoría a través de ejemplos y todo queda muy claro. Te da una visión totalmente distinta sobre el rol que puede tomar el estado en la economía.

La letra es un poco pequeña para mi gusto pero nada exagerado, se puede leer perfectamente.
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os
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 6, 2017
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If we believe much of what passes for the political narrative of the last 40 years it would be easy to imagine that it is the state that stifles innovation, restricts enterprise and burdens citizens and businesses with unnecessary regulation, wasteful expenditure and life sapping tax policies. As with every argument, there may be some truth there, lurking in the intellectual undergrowth, but how much of it is a shaky justification for perpetuating the currently socially injurious power relations?

What the Left and indeed the Centre Right in British politics has needed a core of ideas and beliefs (as well as credible historical examples /policy ideas)that can justify the idea that the role of the state in the politico eco-system is vital to the future growth and prosperity of the economy. This rigorously researched, tightly argued, accessible book is indeed a sturdy intellectual platform for those readers who feel that free markets are only part of the story in the way that the modern economy functions. Readers of a more Libertarian hue, will also have much to ponder here. Understanding the role of state and its promotion of enterprise and innovation will undoubtedly turn more than a few heads!

Here are some of the core ideas:

Industry – farming, consumer electronics, construction, aviation, banking to name but a few has always relied upon sought state intervention in one form or another: subsidy, protectionist policies, ‘bailing out’, tax breaks, incentives, regulatory frame works and so on. The corporate world likes government when it is acting in the interests of business but the tone changes when some degree of reciprocity or responsibility is required.

Engineering firms, chemical producers, capital goods producers, defence contractors have regularly get to taste the honey of public largesse, sometimes just to keep capacity or expertise ( see shipyards) available. The drug industry of course has a major customer in the form of the NHS.

Business needs government in times of recession to exercise its influence in the economy via expansionary fiscal and monetary policies. The only problem is of course, corporations are notoriously adept at managing their revenue flows to reduce their tax liabilities to negligible proportions whilst taking full advantage of all the opportunities that operating in an advanced economy such as the UK offers.

Primary research is essentially a public good. Mazzucato suggests that companies such as Apple benefit from research undertaken elsewhere. The genius of Steve Jobs was to harness ideas (such as touchscreen technology) and incorporate them into a pleasing consumer products. This is product development rather than the sort of research that can lead to fundamental shifts in technology or scientific understanding such as provided by nuclear research or the development of the internet. Research has become increasingly from state sponsorship and the activities of universities, not corporations. The private sector takes advantage of such research without paying their due.

The state fosters enterprise, it creates opportunities for business, it educates citizens, and it can create new markets (green power). The state can do so much more then be a market gatekeeper and corrector of market failures. In short, markets need government. What government has to do is gain expertise, be prepared to ‘fail’ sometimes and become more confident in the way that it can motivate markets to think more long term and be more socially responsible. Theresa May is already thinking along these lines her ideas on a UK industrial strategy.

What I have described above is but a few of the ideas that Mariana Mazzucato outlines in this invigorating book. Read it and see what more of interest there is to glean.

Highly recommended.
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