Towards an Entrepreneurial Welfare State? An Empirically Informed Theoretic

FASS, The Open University

Global Challenges and Social Justice (GCSJ) seminar series

The recent turn towards “challenge-driven” or “mission-oriented” or “transformative” or “problem-oriented” innovation has emphasised that governments must proactively shape and co-create market and innovation processes for the common good. An “entrepreneurial” state of innovation is tasked with steering economic development towards socially and environmentally desirable outcomes. These new tasks derive from the idea of an entrepreneurial welfare state that is both innovative and redistributive. In this sense, it differs from the idea of a traditional welfare state. Whereas a traditional welfare state carries out mainly redistributive functions, an entrepreneurial welfare state also proactively shapes, steers, and incentivises market activities, meeting societal needs. This rethinking of the state places significant new demands on policymakers, who are tasked with promoting both entrepreneurial and welfare functions. A key concern for challenge-driven innovation relates to understanding the tensions and trade-offs that emerge when seeking to combine the traditional welfare functions of public bureaucracy with the idea of an agile public sector that proactively shapes and co-creates market and innovation outcomes. In this paper, we focus on the prospect of an entrepreneurial welfare state. By reviewing key literature and drawing on empirical data from Finland, we contrast the two governmental rationalities in terms of their a) epistemology b) legitimacy basis of public action c) bureaucratic values and operating principles, and d) tools and techniques available to achieve their aims. We argue that an entrepreneurial welfare state ought to redistribute the benefits of innovation. However, getting the level of redistribution right is crucial for maintaining incentives for innovation. An entrepreneurial welfare state depends on the balance between entrepreneurial functions and welfare functions.Speakers: <a href="https://fass.open.ac.uk/people/tp2322" title="https://fass.open.ac.uk/people/tp2322" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Professor Theo Papaioannou </a>and <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/ville-takala" title="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/ville-takala" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Ville Takala - UCL</a>

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