THE ECONOMIC reforms of Ronald Reagan in America and Margret Thatcher in Britain in the 1980s unleashed the power of the private sector for economic growth. The deregulation and privatisations that followed not only perked up their own economies, but became a template for reform in many other countries around the world, from Mexico to Russia.
The crucial point is that many of these activities involve taking risks and investing—exactly what austerity doesn’t do—and in so doing they create value. But that value is not easily visible, for the simple reason that much of it goes into the pockets of the private sector.
Excerpted from “The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy” by Mariana Mazzucato. Published by Penguin. Copyright © 2018 by Mariana Mazzucato. All rights reserved.
https://www.economist.com/open-future/2019/05/09/the-role-of-the-state-in-creating-economic-value