Companies prefer to put money in the pockets of shareholders or to hoard cash rather than to raise wages or invest.
Mariana MazzucatoShareholder value theory - the destructive idea that companies should be run solely for the benefit of shareholders - has led to financialized businesses that do not invest in the areas that will lead to future growth or the invention of useful new products.
Mariana MazzucatoMost venture capital funds are too short-termist and exit-driven to deal with the highly uncertain and lengthy innovation process.
Mariana MazzucatoWe should be investing where the public returns are greatest - that is in innovation.
Mariana MazzucatoIf we look at Germany's infrastructure policy, it has been driven by its mission-oriented focus on green infrastructure. This affects both innovation and infrastructure, old industries and new. The German steel industry, for example, has adapted to the policy by lowering its material content through a 'repurpose, reuse and recycle' strategy.
Mariana Mazzucato