Book Review.

Already, Mazzucato has been personally influential with a number of mainly European governments, as well as the European Commission itself, in securing the adoption of "mission thinking", especially for research and innovation policy, as the potential of this approach has become apparent. The reality for Mazzucato is that there can and should be a role for the social democratic state in identifying future priorities and directions for a prosperous, innovative economy, and inclusive society, as well as in creating a coherent policy framework within which these priorities can be activated. A more accurate and instructive story according to Mazzucato is one that credits governments with the policy framework, institutional structures and incentives, and in many cases the initial public investment that historically, including in the very recent past, have catalysed new ideas and associated value creation. [Extracted from the article]