Tuesday 24 April 2018

Wealth creation in the 21st Century: Who is and isn’t doing it?

UK book launch of The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy by Mariana Mazzucato

Politicians always say they’re on the side of wealth creators. But who are Britain’s real wealth creators, and does government do a good enough job of incentivising them? A key critique of modern capitalism is that for all the talk of industrial strategy, value-extraction is still rewarded more highly than value-creation: the productive process that drives a healthy economy and society.

In her new book, leading economist Mariana Mazzucato argues that if we are to reform capitalism, we urgently need to rethink where wealth comes from. Which activities create it, which extract it, and which destroy it?

At an event at the Resolution Foundation’s headquarters in Westminster, Mariana outlined the key argument in her new book, arguing for a more sustainable capitalism. Mariana was joined by the Foundation’s Executive Chair Lord Willetts for a discussion, before taking part in an audience Q&A.