IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hhs/iuiwop/1484.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Moonshots and the New Industrial Policy: Questioning the Mission Economy

Author

Listed:
  • Henrekson, Magnus

    (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN))

  • Sandström, Christian

    (Jönköping International Business School)

  • Stenkula, Mikael

    (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN))

Abstract

The notion that society should be organized around large so-called missions has gained momentum in public debate, and the reemergence of active industrial policy across the world has been inspired by academic scholars promoting the idea of Mission-Oriented Innovation Policies (MOIPs). The volume Moonshots and the New Industrial Policy: Questioning the Mission Economy provides a comprehensive assessment and normative critique of the efficacy of such policies. Besides the introductory chapter, it consists of 16 chapters distributed across three overarching themes: theoretical perspectives, empirical evidence, and alternative paths. This paper provides some additional analysis, pins down the most important general conclusions and suggests future research questions. Today’s economies are highly dependent on a well-functioning process of decentralized experimentation, selection, and screening. Instead of large scale MOIPs, governments should strive to create an institutional framework that levels the playing field for potential entrepreneurs while encouraging productive entrepreneurship.

Suggested Citation

  • Henrekson, Magnus & Sandström, Christian & Stenkula, Mikael, 2024. "Moonshots and the New Industrial Policy: Questioning the Mission Economy," Working Paper Series 1484, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1484
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.ifn.se/wfiles/wp/wp1484.pdf
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paula Kivimaa & Karoline S. Rogge, 2020. "Interplay of Policy Experimentation and Institutional Change in Transformative Policy Mixes: The Case of Mobility as a Service in Finland," SPRU Working Paper Series 2020-17, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    2. David S. Lucas, 2019. "The political economy of the collaborative innovation bloc," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 32(4), pages 331-338, December.
    3. Philippe Aghion & Jean Tirole, 1994. "The Management of Innovation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(4), pages 1185-1209.
    4. David S. Lucas & Caleb S. Fuller & Ennio E. Piano & Christopher J. Coyne, 2018. "Visions of entrepreneurship policy," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(4), pages 336-356, November.
    5. Shawn Kantor & Alexander T. Whalley, 2023. "Moonshot: Public R&D and Growth," NBER Working Papers 31471, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Réka Juhász & Nathan Lane & Dani Rodrik, 2024. "The New Economics of Industrial Policy," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 16(1), pages 213-242, August.
    7. Johan P. Larsson, 2022. "Innovation Without Entrepreneurship: The Pipe Dream of Mission-Oriented Innovation Policy," International Studies in Entrepreneurship, in: Karl Wennberg & Christian Sandström (ed.), Questioning the Entrepreneurial State, pages 77-91, Springer.
    8. Kärnä, Anders & Karlsson, Johan & Engberg, Erik & Svensson, Peter, 2020. "Political Failure: A Missing Piece in Innovation Policy Analysis," Working Paper Series 1334, Research Institute of Industrial Economics, revised 21 Apr 2022.
    9. Geels, Frank W., 2004. "From sectoral systems of innovation to socio-technical systems: Insights about dynamics and change from sociology and institutional theory," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(6-7), pages 897-920, September.
    10. Anders Gustafsson & Patrik Gustavsson Tingvall & Daniel Halvarsson, 2020. "Subsidy Entrepreneurs: an Inquiry into Firms Seeking Public Grants," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 439-478, September.
    11. Saras D. Sarasvathy, 2022. "An Effectual Analysis of Markets and States," International Studies in Entrepreneurship, in: Karl Wennberg & Christian Sandström (ed.), Questioning the Entrepreneurial State, pages 37-55, Springer.
    12. Daron Acemoglu, 2002. "Directed Technical Change," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 69(4), pages 781-809.
    13. Christopher John Boudreaux, 2022. "Tilting the playing field? A discourse on state-directed innovation policy," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 32(5), pages 1575-1579, November.
    14. Mariana Mazzucato, 2022. "Financing the Green New Deal," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 5(2), pages 93-94, February.
    15. Foray, D. & Mowery, D.C. & Nelson, R.R., 2012. "Public R&D and social challenges: What lessons from mission R&D programs?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(10), pages 1697-1702.
    16. Jeff Muldoon & Derek K. Yonai, 2023. "A wrong but seductive idea: Public choice and the entrepreneurial state," Journal of the International Council for Small Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(4), pages 351-361, October.
    17. Dominique Foray, 2018. "Smart specialization strategies as a case of mission-oriented policy—a case study on the emergence of new policy practices," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 27(5), pages 817-832.
    18. Roy Rothwell & Walter Zegveld, 1984. "An Assessment Of Government Innovation Policies," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 3(3‐4), pages 436-444, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cheang, Bryan, 2024. "Why mission-directed governance risks authoritarianism: lessons from East Asia," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 125640, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Magnus Henrekson & Christian Sandström & Mikael Stenkula, 2024. "Learning from Overrated Mission-Oriented Innovation Policies: Seven Takeaways," International Studies in Entrepreneurship, in: Magnus Henrekson & Christian Sandström & Mikael Stenkula (ed.), Moonshots and the New Industrial Policy, pages 235-255, Springer.
    2. Björnemalm, Rickard & Sandström, Christian & Åkesson, Nelly, 2023. "A Public Choice Perspective on Mission-Oriented Innovation Policies and the Behavior of Government Agencies," Ratio Working Papers 366, The Ratio Institute.
    3. Björnemalm, Rickard & Sandström, Christian, 2023. "Interest groups and thefailure of transformativeinnovation policy - Insights from the ethanolcar bubble in Sweden 2003-2013," Ratio Working Papers 362, The Ratio Institute, revised 05 Sep 2022.
    4. Francesco Lamperti & Giovanni Dosi & Mauro Napoletano & Andrea Roventini & Alessandro Sapio, 2018. "And then he wasn't a she : Climate change and green transitions in an agent-based integrated assessment model," Working Papers hal-03443464, HAL.
    5. Magnus Henrekson & Anders Kärnä & Tino Sanandaji, 2022. "Schumpeterian entrepreneurship: coveted by policymakers but impervious to top-down policymaking," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 32(3), pages 867-890, July.
    6. Janssen, Matthijs J. & Abbasiharofteh, Milad, 2022. "Boundary spanning R&D collaboration: Key enabling technologies and missions as alleviators of proximity effects?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    7. Guido Cozzi & Silvia Galli, 2009. "Upstream Innovation Protection: Common Law Evolution and the Dynamics of Wage Inequality," Working Papers 2009_20, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    8. Magnus Henrekson & Christian Sandström & Mikael Stenkula, 2024. "Seven reasons why mission‐oriented innovation policies seldom work in practice," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(2), pages 354-362, June.
    9. Giulio Cainelli & Massimiliano Mazzanti & Simone Borghesi, 2012. "The European Emission Trading Scheme and environmental innovation diffusion: Empirical analyses using Italian CIS data," Working Papers 201201, University of Ferrara, Department of Economics.
    10. Gianluca Pallante & Emanuele Russo & Andrea Roventini, 2020. "Does mission-oriented funding stimulate private R&D? Evidence from military R&D for US states," Working Papers hal-04097530, HAL.
    11. Guido Cozzi & Silvia Galli, 2014. "Sequential R&D and blocking patents in the dynamics of growth," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 183-219, June.
    12. van der Have, Robert P. & Rubalcaba, Luis, 2016. "Social innovation research: An emerging area of innovation studies?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(9), pages 1923-1935.
    13. Niklas Elert & Magnus Henrekson, 2022. "Collaborative Innovation Blocs and Mission-Oriented Innovation Policy: An Ecosystem Perspective," International Studies in Entrepreneurship, in: Karl Wennberg & Christian Sandström (ed.), Questioning the Entrepreneurial State, pages 345-367, Springer.
    14. Janssen, Matthijs J. & Abbasiharofteh, Milad, 2022. "Boundary spanning R&D collaboration: Key enabling technologies and missions as alleviators of proximity effects?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 180.
    15. Iris Wanzenböck & Joeri H Wesseling & Koen Frenken & Marko P Hekkert & K Matthias Weber, 0. "A framework for mission-oriented innovation policy: Alternative pathways through the problem–solution space," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 47(4), pages 474-489.
    16. Lamperti, F. & Dosi, G. & Napoletano, M. & Roventini, A. & Sapio, A., 2020. "Climate change and green transitions in an agent-based integrated assessment model," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    17. Cristiano Antonelli & Federico Barbiellini Amidei, 2011. "The Dynamics of Knowledge Externalities," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13292, March.
    18. Anna Dimitrova & Katarina Hollan & Daphne Channa Laster & Andreas Reinstaller & Margit Schratzenstaller-Altzinger & Ewald Walterskirchen & Teresa Weiss, 2013. "Literature Review on Fundamental Concepts and Definitions, Objectives and Policy Goals as well as Instruments Relevant for Socio-ecological Transition. WWWforEurope Working Paper No. 40," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 47015.
    19. Wei Jin & ZhongXiang Zhang, 2014. "Explaining the Slow Pace of Energy Technological Innovation: Why Market Conditions Matter," CCEP Working Papers 1401, Centre for Climate & Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    20. Bryan, Kevin A. & Lemus, Jorge, 2017. "The direction of innovation," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 247-272.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mission-oriented policies; Innovation policy; New industrial policy; Moonshots; Rent seeking; Public choice;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H50 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - General
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • L52 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Industrial Policy; Sectoral Planning Methods
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1484. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Elisabeth Gustafsson (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iuiiise.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.