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Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation Policy? – A critique of the entrepreneurial state

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  • Karlson, Nils

    (The Ratio Institute)

  • Sandström, Christian

    (The Ratio Institute)

  • Wennberg, Karl

    (The Ratio Institute)

Abstract

This paper takes stock of recent suggestions that the state apparatus is a central and underappreciated actor in the generation, diffusion and exploitation of innovations enhancing growth and social welfare. We contrast such a view of “the entrepreneurial state” with theories and empirical evidence of the microeconomic processes of innovation in the modern economy which focus on well-functioning markets, free entry and competition among firms, and independent entrepreneurship as central mechanisms in the creation and dissemination of innovations. In doing so, we identify several deficiencies in the notion of an entrepreneurial state by showing that (i) there is weak empirical support in the many hundreds empirical studies and related meta analyses evaluating the effectiveness of active industrial and innovative policies, that (ii) these policies do not take account of the presence of information and incentive problems which together explain why attempts to address purported market failures often result in policy failures, and that (iii) the exclusive focus on knowledge creation through R&D and different forms of firm subsidies ignores the equally important mechanisms of knowledge dissemination and creation through commercial exploitation in markets. We discuss how a more theoretically well-founded focus on the state as investing in knowledge generation and securing the conditions of free and competitive markets will lead to a more innovative economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Karlson, Nils & Sandström, Christian & Wennberg, Karl, 2020. "Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation Policy? – A critique of the entrepreneurial state," Ratio Working Papers 331, The Ratio Institute.
  • Handle: RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0331
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    3. Huynh, Cong Minh & Hoang, Hong Hiep, 2022. "Economic freedom and natural disasters’ losses: Evidence from Asia," MPRA Paper 111958, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    5. Pourya Darnihamedani & Siri Terjesen, 2022. "Male and female entrepreneurs’ employment growth ambitions: the contingent role of regulatory efficiency," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 185-204, January.
    6. Ioana Andreea Bogoslov & Anca Elena Lungu & Eduard Alexandru Stoica & Mircea Radu Georgescu, 2022. "European Green Deal Impact on Entrepreneurship and Competition: A Free Market Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-15, September.
    7. Liu, Taoxiong & Yan, Wenwen & Zhang, Yadi, 2023. "Functional or selective policy? - Research on the relationship between government intervention and enterprise innovation in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 82-96.
    8. Huynh, Cong Minh & Le, Quoc Nha & Lam, Thi Huong Tra, 2023. "Is air pollution a government failure or a market failure? Global evidence from a multi-dimensional analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    9. Niclas Berggren & Christian Bjørnskov, 2022. "Academic freedom, institutions, and productivity," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 88(4), pages 1313-1342, April.
    10. Art Carden, 2023. "Economic planning must be polycentric, not monocentric: Introduction to a symposium on Mises and Hayek on socialism and knowledge," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 89(3), pages 647-656, January.
    11. 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.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    innovation policy; market failure; entrepreneurial state; incentive problem; rent seeking;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • 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
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

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