Mariana Mazzucato (PhD) is Professor in the Economics of Innovation & Public Value at University College London (UCL) where she is the Founding Director of the UCL IIPP.

Mariana Mazzucato is Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London, where she is Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose (IIPP). Her previous posts include the RM Phillips Professorial Chair at the Science Policy Research Unit at Sussex University.
She is winner of international prizes including the Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana in 2021, Italy's highest civilian honour, the 2020 John von Neumann Award, the 2019 All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values, and the 2018 Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. Most recently, Pope Francis appointed her to the Pontifical Academy for Life for bringing ‘more humanity’ to the world.

As well as The Entrepreneurial State: debunking public vs. private sector myths (2013), she is the author of The Value of Everything: making and taking in the global economy (2018), Mission Economy: a moonshot guide to changing capitalism (2021) and The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens our Businesses, Infantilizes our Governments and Warps our Economies (2023).
She advises policy makers around the world on innovation-led inclusive and sustainable growth. Her roles have included for example Chair of the World Health Organization's Council on the Economics of Health for All, Co-Chair of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, Co-Chair on the Council on Urban Initiatives, and a member of the South African President’s Economic Advisory Council. Previously, through her role as Special Advisor for the EC Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation (2017-2019), she authored the high-impact report on Mission-Oriented Research and Innovation in the European Union, turning “missions” into a crucial new instrument in the European Commission’s Horizon innovation programme, and more recently, authored a report with the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on Transformational Change in Latin America and the Caribbean: A mission-oriented approach.
Media highlights
stop whining about big government

The New York Times Sway Podcast | 15 March 2021
Capitalism After the Pandemic:
Getting the Recovery Right

Foreign Affairs | 2 October 2020
Building Back Worse

Project Syndicate | 22 March 2021
How 'moonshot' thinking could save the world

CNN Amanpour | 28 January 2021
Selected Publications
For a full list of publications visit Professor Mazzucato's UCL profile.
- Books
- Mazzucato, M. and Collington, R. (2023). The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens Our Businesses, Infantilizes Our Governments, and Warps Our Economies. London: Penguin Allen Lane; New York, NY: Penguin Press.
- Mazzucato, M. (2021), Mission Economy - A moonshot guide to changing capitalism, Penguin, Allen Lane-Penguin: London, UK
- Mazzucato, M. (2018), The Value of Everything - making and taking in the global economy, Penguin, Allen Lane-Penguin: London, UK
- Jacobs, M. and Mazzucato, M. Eds (2016), Rethinking Capitalism: Economics and Policy for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth, Wiley-Blackwell, London, ISBN: 978-1-119-12095-7
- Mazzucato, M. (2013), The Entrepreneurial State: debunking public vs. private sector myths, Anthem Press: London, UK, ISBN 9780857282521, US edition (Public Affairs) and translated into Italian (Laterza), German (Kunstmann), Spanish (RBA Books), Portuguese (Companhia Das Letras), Dutch (Nieuw Amsterdam), Greek (Kritiki), and forthcoming in Chinese, Japanese, Korean,and Polish.
- Mazzucato, M., Lowe, J., Shipman, A. and Trigg, A. (2010), Personal Investment: financial planning in an uncertain world, Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke, UK, ISBN 978-0-230-24660-7:1-448
- Mazzucato, M. and Dosi, G. (eds.) (2006), Knowledge Accumulation and Industry Evolution: pharma-biotech, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, ISBN 0-521-85822-4: 1-446
- Mazzucato, M. (ed.) (2002), Strategy for Business, a Reader, Sage Publications: London, UK, ISBN 0-7619-7413-X: 1-378
- Mazzucato, M. (2000), Firm Size, Innovation and Market Structure: the evolution of market concentration and instability, Edward Elgar: Northampton, MA, USA, ISBN 1-84064-346-3: 1-138
- Selected journal articles (peer reviewed)
Mazzucato, M. (2022). Collective value creation: a new approach to stakeholder value. International Review of Applied Economics. https://doi.org/10.1080/02692171.2022.2144149
Andreoni, A., Creamer, K., Mazzucato, M., and Steyn, G. (2022). “How can South Africa advance a new energy paradigm? A mission-oriented approach to megaprojects”. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 38 (2). https://doi.org/10.1093/oxrep/grac007
Mazzucato, M., and Ryan-Collins, J. (2022). "Putting value creation back into ‘public value’: From market-fixing to market-shaping". Journal of Economic Policy Reform. https://doi.org/10.1080/17487870.2022.2053537
Mazzucato, M., & Li, H. L. (2021). “A Market Shaping Approach for the Biopharmaceutical Industry: Governing Innovation Towards the Public Interest”. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 49(1), 39–49. https://doi.org/10.1017/jme.2021.8
Deleidi, M. and Mazzucato, M. (2021), “Directed innovation policies and the supermultiplier: An empirical assessment of mission-oriented policies in the US economy.” Research Policy, 50(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2020.104151
Mazzucato, M. and Kattel, R. (2020), “Covid-19 and Public Sector Capacity.” Oxford Review of Economic Policy, graa031, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxrep/graa031
Deleidi, M. and Mazzucato, M. (2020) Directed innovation policies and the supermultiplier: An empirical assessment of mission-oriented policies in the US economy, Research Policy, 50, 2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2020.104151
Lamperti, F., Mazzucato, M., Roventini, A., & Semieniuk, G. (2019). “The green transition: public policy, finance and the role of the State”. Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung/Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, 88(2), 73-88. https://doi.org/10.3790/vjh.88.2.73
Mazzucato, M., Kattel, R., & Ryan-Collins, J. (2019). “Challenge-Driven Innovation Policy: Towards a New Policy Toolkit”. Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10842-019-00329-w
Robinson, D. K., & Mazzucato, M. (2019). The evolution of mission-oriented policies: Exploring changing market creating policies in the US and European space sector. Research Policy, 48(4), 936-948. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048733318302373?via%...
Sachs, J.D, Schmidt-Traub, G., Mazzucato, M., Messner, D, Nakicenovic, and N., Rockström, J. (2019) "Six Transformations to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals", Nature Sustainability (Sept. 2019). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0352-9.pdf?proof=trueMay
Mazzucato, M. (2018). “Let's make private data into a public good”. MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW, 121 (4), 74-75. https://www.technologyreview.com/2018/06/27/141776/lets-make-private-dat...
Mazzucato, M., and Roy, V. (2018). “Rethinking value in health innovation: from mystifications towards prescriptions”. Journal of Economic Policy Reform, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/17487870.2018.1509712
Mazzucato, M. (2018), “Mission Oriented Innovation Policy: Challenges and Opportunities”, Industrial and Corporate Change, 27 (5): 803–815, https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dty034
Mazzucato, M. and Semieniuk, G (2018) “Financing renewable energy: who is financing what and why it matters”, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 127, 8-22. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162517306820
- Mazzucato, M., & Kattel, R. (2018). "Mission-orientated innovation policy and dynamic capabilities in the public sector." Industrial and Corporate Change, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icc/dty032
- Mazzucato, M. and Robinson, D. (2017) "Co-creating and directing innovation ecosystems: NASA’s approach to public-private partnerships in low-Earth orbit",Technological Forecasting and Social Change, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2017.03.034
- Mazzucato, M. and Semieniuk, G (2017) “Financing renewable energy: who is financing what and why it matters”, forthcoming in Technological Forecasting and Social Change, also SPRU working paper version https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=2016-12-swps-mazzucato-et-al.pdf&site=25
- Mazzucato, M. and Semieniuk, G. (2017) “Public financing of innovation: new questions”, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Volume 33 (1): 24–48. https://academic.oup.com/oxrep/article/33/1/24/2972707/Public-financing-...
- Mazzucato, M. and Penna, C. (2016) “Beyond market failures: the market creating and shaping roles of state investment banks”, Journal of Economic Policy Reform, 19(4): 305-326, SPRU working paper version http://www.sussex.ac.uk/spru/documents/2014-21-swps-mazzucato-and-penna.pdf
- Mazzucato M. (2016) "From Market Fixing to Market-Creating: A new framework for innovation policy", Special Issue of Industry and Innovation: “Innovation Policy – can it make a difference?”, 23 (2)
- Academic working papers
De Lipsis, V., Deleidi, M., Mazzucato, M. and Agnolucci, P. (2023). Macroeconomic Effects of Public
R&D. UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, Working Paper Series (IIPP WP 2023-02).
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/wp2023-02Collington, R. and Mazzucato, M. (2022). Beyond outsourcing: Re-embedding the State in public value production. UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, Working Paper Series (IIPP WP 2022-14). Available at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/wp2022-14
Mazzucato, M., Schaake, M., Krier, S. and Entsminger, J. (2022). Governing artificial intelligence in the public interest. UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, Working Paper Series (IIPP WP 2020-12). https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/wp2022-12
Dosi, D., Lamperti, F., Mazzucato, M., Napoletano, M. and Roventini, A. (2021). "Mission-oriented policies and the 'Entrepreneurial State' at work: An agent-based exploration". UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, Working Paper Series (IIPP WP 2021/10).
Mazzucato, M., Kattel, R., Begovic, M. and Quaggiotto, G. (2021). ‘COVID-19 and the Need for Dynamic State Capabilities: An International Comparison'. United Nations Development Programme and UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose Working Paper. Available at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/sites/public-purpose/files...
Mazzucato, M., Qobo, M. and Kattel, R. (2021). “Building state capacities and dynamic capabilities to drive social and economic development: The case of South Africa”, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose Working Paper Series (IIPP WP 2021/09). https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/wp2021-09
Mazzucato, M., Entsminger, J. and Kattel, R. (2020). “Public value and platform governance”. UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, Working Paper Series (IIPP WP 2020-11). Available at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/wp2020-11
Mazzucato, M., Ryan-Collins, J. and Gouzoulis, G. (2020). “Theorising and Mapping Modern Economic Rents”. UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, Working Paper Series (IIPP WP 2020-13). Available at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/wp2020-13
Heine, D., Semmler, W., Mazzucato, M., Braga, J.P., Flaherty, M., Gevorkyan, A., Hayde, E.K., and Radpour, S. (2019). “Financing Low-Carbon Transitions through Carbon Pricing and Green Bonds”. Policy Research Working Paper No. WPS 8991, World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/808771566321852359/Financing-L...
Mazzucato, M. and Ryan-Collins, J. (2019). “Putting value creation back into ‘public value’: From market fixing to market shaping”, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, Working Paper (IIPP WP 2019-05). https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/wp2019-05
Deleidi, M., Mazzucato, M. and Semieniuk, G. (2019). Neither crowding in nor out: Public direct investment mobilising private investment into renewable electricity projects. UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, Working Paper Series (IIPP WP 2019-10). Available at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/wp2019-10
Contact
For media enquiries:
For media and press enquiries for the Institute’s Director, Prof Mariana Mazzucato, contact: iipp-dir-comms@ucl.ac.uk
For media and press enquiries for the Institute of Innovation and Public Purpose please contact: Michael Lucibella, m.lucibella@ucl.ac.uk
For event enquiries: iipp-director-pa@ucl.ac.uk