The globalized nature of production and innovation means that the benefits don't necessarily stay in the country where the investments are made.

With a Trump administration we don't know enough yet to make predictions, but if past behavior is any indication, I am not encouraged.

Most venture capital funds are too short-termist and exit-driven to deal with the highly uncertain and lengthy innovation process.

Another similarity of Brexit and Trump's campaigns was an attack on so-called elites. This is not so much a failure of capitalism as of its high priests in the economic profession, for which we must all take some responsibility.

Government support is not only investing in upstream areas like basic research, but also in downstream areas like applied research and early-stage financing for the companies themselves. This means there are great risks.

What is needed is both a New Deal in terms of mission-oriented investments but also a new deal in terms of a modern social compact - one that allows the state to socialize not only risks but also rewards. Maybe then innovation-led growth will also become growth that includes all of us.

While infrastructure is of course important, it must be part of a bigger vision. The point is not to simply dig ditches but to steer those investments towards transformational growth.