UMass Gamble Memorial Lecture Will Focus On Economic Development In An Era Of Health Pandemics And Climate Change

Source: UMass News and Media

Following a two-year hiatus, the annual Philip Gamble Memorial Lecture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst returns with a presentation by economist and author Mariana Mazzucato Tuesday, April 12, at 5:30 p.m. in the Campus Center Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Mazzucato is founder of the Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose and professor of economics of innovation and public value at University College London. Her lecture, “Directing Economic Growth: A Mission-oriented Approach,” will make the case for rethinking the role of government in the economy so that it is better equipped to deal with the greatest challenges of our times – health pandemics, climate change and the digital divide.

Drawing from her recent book, Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism, Mazzucato’s presentation will focus on the reasons why – and how – to move away from a reactive market-fixing approach to a market-shaping one. She will discuss solutions to help “walk the talk” of stakeholder value, such as outcomes-based budgeting, redesigning procurement to nurture bottom-up solutions and new symbiotic – rather than parasitic – partnerships between the public and private sectors.

Mazzucato advises policymakers around the world on innovation-led inclusive and sustainable growth, including as chair of the World Health Organization’s Council on the Economics of Health for All. She is also a member of the Scottish Government’s Council of Economic Advisors, the South African President’s Economic Advisory Council, the OECD Secretary General’s Advisory Group on a New Growth Narrative, the UN High Level Advisory Board for Economic and Social Affairs, Argentina’s Economic and Social Council, Vinnova’s Advisory Panel in Sweden and Norway’s Research Council.  Previously, through her role as Special Advisor for the EC Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation from 2017-19, she authored the high-impact report on Mission-Oriented Research & Innovation in the European Union, turning “missions” into a crucial new instrument in the European Commission’s Horizon innovation program.

Named one of the ‘Three most important thinkers about innovation‘ by The New Republic, one of the 50 most creative people in business in 2020 by Fast Company and one of the 25 leaders shaping the future of capitalism by WIRED, Mazzucato is the winner of numerous international prizes including the Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana in 2021 – Italy’s highest civilian honor – 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.

In addition to Mission Economy, she is also the author of the books The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths, which investigates the critical role the state plays in driving growth, and The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy, which looks at how value creation needs to be rewarded over value extraction.

Mazzucato received her B.A. from Tufts University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research. Her previous posts include the RM Phillips Professorial Chair at the Science Policy Research Unit at Sussex University. She is a selected fellow of the U.K.’s Academy of Social Sciences and of the Italian National Science Academy.

Sponsored by the UMass Amherst Department of Economics, the Philip Gamble Memorial Lectureship Endowment was established by alumnus Israel Rogosa and other family and friends in memory of Philip Gamble, a member of the economics faculty from 1935-71 and chair of the department from 1942-65. The fund supports an annual lecture series featuring a prominent economist, and since its inauguration in 1995 Gamble lecturers have included Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich and former U.S. Ambassador to India and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient John Kenneth Galbraith. In total, 10 recipients of the Nobel Prize in Economics have presented the Gamble Lecture.

More information on the department of economics and the 2022 Gamble Lecture by Mariana Mazzucato, as well as a complete list of previous Gamble lecturers with video of all speeches since 2008, can be found on the economics department website. More info about Mazzucato, including an archive of her research, writings and media appearances can be found at marianamazzucato.com.