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How can we reimagine the economy after COVID-19?

22 May 2020

IIPP Director Professor Mariana Mazzucato was interviewed by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour about reimagining the economy after COVID-19. Watch the video to learn more about how governments and businesses must work together for a more inclusive and sustainable society.

How can we reimagine the economy after COVID-19?

During an interview with CNN’s news host Christiane Amanpour about what is needed to make future economies more resilient post COVID-19, IIPP Director Professor Mariana Mazzucato spoke about the need for long term vision. She suggested that government and business should engage in long-run investment, partnerships and collaboration in order to actually solve our immediate needs, like getting people back to work; but that we will also need to use that lens to think about long-term recovery.

“We have to remember that the concept of going back to normal only makes sense if normal was good! And given the levels of inequality we’ve had in different countries ….. given the climate crisis…. [we need] to be imaginative and creative in how we structure our remedies.”

What does it mean to talk about the essential economy – how can we value that, how can we fund that, and how can we reimagine that?​​​​​

She went on to say “we already learnt with the financial crisis [2008] that it’s not enough to just flood the system with liquidity. We actually need to do so in a way that produces a more just, inclusive and sustainable society.”

Christiane Amanpour and Professor Mazzucato also discussed the problems caused by diminished public sector funding in both the UK and the UK.

Professor Mazzucato explained that a stimulus package is much needed because it will be a long recovery for all economies. However, she urged that any package must be investment lead, “and the direction of that investment must be not only in green infrastructure but also the care infrastructure, the social infrastructure …. And [this] can create opportunities for innovation.”

She went on to ask, “what does it mean to talk about the essential economy – how can we value that, how can we fund that, and how can we reimagine that?”

Watch the interview