Re:We have socialised the risk of innovation but privatised ...
by nl on Monday March 09, 2015 @11:19AM
(#9171341)
Mazzucato provides no real evidence the government is good at funding commercially viable innovation.
I don't think this is her point. Either way, I agree with you.
I also agree that private enterprise is much, much better at commercialising research.
I think her point is that basic research - which the governments are generally pretty good at funding - doesn't provide a good return on investment.
I have some sympathy with this argument, but at the same time I don't think she provides a viable solution for the problem.
As a specific example: DARPA kick-started the entire set driverless car technologies with their well-funded competitions in the early 2000s. This involved both prizes, and direct funding of robotics labs.
One can argue that this was done to seed a solution in the 20-year timeframe, and the fact that we'll probably see a decrease in combat deaths from IEDs in a future war in 10 years as driverless trucks come online is reward enough.
One can also argue that society should see some financial return on that - very risky - seed investment.
Both arguments have merit, and I remain unconvinced either way.
I don't think this is her point. Either way, I agree with you.
I also agree that private enterprise is much, much better at commercialising research.
I think her point is that basic research - which the governments are generally pretty good at funding - doesn't provide a good return on investment.
I have some sympathy with this argument, but at the same time I don't think she provides a viable solution for the problem.
As a specific example: DARPA kick-started the entire set driverless car technologies with their well-funded competitions in the early 2000s. This involved both prizes, and direct funding of robotics labs.
One can argue that this was done to seed a solution in the 20-year timeframe, and the fact that we'll probably see a decrease in combat deaths from IEDs in a future war in 10 years as driverless trucks come online is reward enough.
One can also argue that society should see some financial return on that - very risky - seed investment.
Both arguments have merit, and I remain unconvinced either way.