乱伦秀

Authored by Mariana Mazzucato and Laurie Macfarlane

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A Mission-Oriented Industrial Strategy for Scotland: Framing Paper听| policy report no. 2024/10.听

Authors:

• Mariana Mazzucato听:听Founding Director and Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value |听乱伦秀 Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)
• Laurie Macfarlane : Co-Director | Future Economy Scotland听/听Policy Fellow | 乱伦秀 Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Summary:

The research, jointly published by the听乱伦秀 Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose听(IIPP) and听, assesses the key challenges Scotland鈥檚 economy faces, and sets out a roadmap for an ambitious industrial strategy that aligns social and environmental priorities with economic goals.

While Scotland鈥檚 economy has many strengths, we find that a chronic problem of low investment has undermined living standards, productivity growth, and innovation. Meanwhile, the huge economic opportunities associated with Scotland鈥檚 net zero transition have been hampered by a weak industrial base and a lack of investment.听

As other countries across the world implement ambitious industrial strategies, Scotland cannot afford to rely on 鈥渞eheating old orthodoxies鈥�. Instead, the report calls on the Scottish Government to embrace a听鈥榤ission-oriented鈥� approach听to industrial strategy 鈥� replacing traditional, sector-focused strategies with cross-sectoral 鈥榤issions鈥� that address major societal challenges. The focus of Scotland鈥檚 new industrial strategy should be on 鈥渟ystem-wide transformation鈥�, rather than supporting a small number of sectors.

The report recommends that the Scottish Government:听

• Moves away from acting simply as 鈥榣ender of last resort鈥� bailing out struggling firms, and instead embraces an 鈥榠nvestor of first resort鈥� role 鈥� investing proactively to nurture new technological and industrial landscapes听
• Promotes greater coordination between policies such as procurement, subsidies and innovation funding, as well as institutions such as Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish National Investment Bank
• Creates a new 鈥榮ocial contract鈥� between government and business by attaching conditions on private sector access to state funding, and taking equity stakes in major projects
• Strengthens capabilities within Scotland鈥檚 public sector to reduce reliance on private consultancy firms听
• Creates new governance models to break government silos and drive a mission-oriented industrial strategy across the Scottish Government

The framework also features a cross-cutting focus on skills, infrastructure and the foundational economy, with Scotland鈥檚 Fair Work agenda being embedded throughout 鈥� including meaningful input from trade unions, impacted communities and business.

Reference:

Mazzucato, M., Macfarlane, L. (2024).听A Mission-Oriented Industrial Strategy for Scotland: Framing Paper. 乱伦秀 Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. IIPP Policy Report No.10. Available at:听/bartlett/public-purpose/policy-report-2024-10.

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