Showing 1 - 10 of 20
Building capacity where it counts
Oped, Mariana Mazzucato & Rainer Kattel, Published on 06/10/2025
» After years of underinvestment, governments around the world are struggling to keep pace with growing demands. The consequences are now widely evident, as underfunded and unprepared public agencies falter whenever crises strike. The problem is not "slimming" government down, but rather rendering it more capable, strategic, outcome-oriented and a good partner in solving the greatest problems of our time: providing adequate housing for all, strengthening climate resilience and ensuring that technology makes all our lives better, not just a few "bros" richer.
The world needs a new approach to water crisis
Oped, Mariana Mazzucato, Published on 21/08/2025
» As African leaders gather in Cape Town for the African Water Investment Summit, there can be no equivocation: the world faces an unprecedented water crisis that demands a paradigm shift in how we value and govern our most precious resource.
State entities too complex to be treated as startups
Oped, Mariana Mazzucato and Rainer Kattel, Published on 17/04/2025
» Around the world, governments are trying to reinvent themselves in the image of business. Elon Musk's DOGE crusade in the United States is quite explicit on this point, as is Argentina's chainsaw-wielding president, Javier Milei. But one also hears similar rhetoric in the United Kingdom, where Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden wants the government to foster a "test-and-learn" culture and move towards performance-based management.
Don't let governments break encryption
Oped, Jessica Dickinson Goodman and Ezequiel Passeron Kitroser, Published on 03/04/2025
» Imagine that some strange man wants a picture of your child. If it were the year 1750, he might commission an artist, who would then knock on your door and ask to paint a portrait. You could say no.
Resisting digital feudalism in artificial intelligence
Oped, Mariana Mazzucato, Published on 13/02/2025
» This month's AI Action Summit in Paris comes at a critical juncture in the development of artificial intelligence. At issue is not whether Europe can compete with China and the United States in an AI arms race; it is whether Europeans can pioneer a different approach that puts public value at the centre of technological development and governance. The task is to move away from digital feudalism, the term I coined back in 2019 to describe the dominant digital platforms' model of rent extraction.
Growth requires getting PPPs right
Oped, Mariana Mazzucato, Published on 03/01/2025
» The United Kingdom's Labour government has given serious thought to the public investment needed to get the economy back on track after 14 years of austerity, neglect of social infrastructure, and capital flight triggered by Brexit and uncertain economic conditions.
Action, not cynicism
Oped, Postbag, Published on 30/11/2024
» Re: "Pricey policies to curb climate change 'dead'", (Opinion, Nov 28).
Making public investment work
Oped, Mariana Mazzucato and Jonathan Glennie, Published on 21/11/2024
» Following the United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Colombia (COP 16) and in the midst of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 29) in Azerbaijan, we find ourselves at a crossroads. Climate change and biodiversity loss are not just looming threats; they are already here, exacerbating social inequalities, economic instability, and environmental degradation before our eyes.
How to save the pandemic treaty
Oped, Mariana Mazzucato, Published on 03/04/2024
» Recent drafts of a global pandemic treaty have been widely criticised as "shameful and unjust". When the latest round of negotiations opened on March 18, it was clear that a key lesson of the Covid-19 pandemic was being ignored: public health and the health of the economy are interdependent.
How Big Tech controls user behaviour for profit
Oped, Mariana Mazzucato & Ilan Strauss, Published on 02/03/2024
» In a new lawsuit in the US against Meta, 41 states and the District of Columbia argue that two of the company's social-media products -- Instagram and Facebook -- are not just addictive but detrimental to children's well-being. Meta is accused of engaging in a "scheme to exploit young users for profit", including by showing harmful content that keeps them glued to their screens.