Economist Mariana Mazzucato is the winner of the 2019 Madame de Staël Prize

Economist Mariana Mazzucato is the recipient of the 2019 All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values, honouring her wide-ranging and stimulating work in the field of political economy and particularly her ground-breaking contributions to understanding the role of the state in innovation. The jury valued her outstanding efforts in shaping new narratives for Europe and its economy through her scholarly work and public engagement.

The award further recognises Mazzucato’s commitment to connect academia with European policymaking, most visibly through her contributions to the EU’s research and innovation agenda, encouraging cross-disciplinary cooperation to achieve true innovation with societal relevance, both within and beyond Europe.

“Mariana Mazzucato’s scholarly work is rather exceptional in a way that it transcends academia. She is a brilliant and provocative economist who has challenged stories of value creation, innovation and growth. In an ingenious way, she has been able to create new economic narratives to understand contemporary realities in Europe and beyond. The jury honours her outstanding academic work and her engagement to bridge the gap between academia and policymaking”, said Antonio Loprieno, President of ALLEA and chairman of the Madame de Staël Prize jury.

ALLEA’s Madame de Staël Prize

Mariana Mazzucato will be the sixth scholar to receive the All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values, an initiative of ALLEA with the support of the foundation Compagnia di San Paolo.

The prize was established to commemorate a deep-rooted understanding of European culture as connected by an inherent diversity supported by a dynamic and vigorous intellectualism. The prize will be awarded during a ceremony in the context of the 25th Anniversary of ALLEA. The celebration will take place at the University of Bern and is hosted by the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences in Bern on 8 May. Switzerland’s Federal Councillor for Economics, Education and Research Guy Parmelin will be opening the ceremony, and the President of the European Research Council Jean-Pierre Bourguignon will provide the laudatory speech.

About Mariana Mazzucato

Mariana Mazzucato (PhD) holds the Chair in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London (UCL), and she is Founder and Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose (IIPP). IIPP is dedicated to rethinking the role of public policy in shaping both the rate of growth and its direction—and training the next generation of civil servants with a focus on the dynamic organisational capabilities required for mission-oriented policies. Professor Mazzucato advises policy makers around the world on innovation-led inclusive growth and is currently a member of the Scottish Government’s Council of Economic Advisors; the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network Leadership Council; and SITRA’s Advisory Panel in Finland. She is currently a Special Advisor for the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, and has recently authored the high impact EC report Mission-Oriented Research & Innovation in the European Union. She is also a Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the OECD, Angel Gurría, for the OECD’s New Growth Narrative. Mazzucato has written several books, book chapters, journal articles and policy papers on issues related to economic and finance policy, innovation, sustainability and inclusive growth. Her highly-acclaimed book The Entrepreneurial State: debunking public vs. private sector myths (Anthem 2013; Public Affairs, 2015) was on the 2013 Books of the Year list of the Financial Times. Her new book The Value of Everything: making and taking in the global economy was published in April 2018 in the UK (Penguin) and was launched in the USA in September 2018 (Public Affairs). It was shortlisted for this year’s Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year prize.

About ALLEA

ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, was founded in 1994 and currently brings together almost 60 Academies in more than 40 countries from the Council of Europe region. Member Academies operate as learned societies, think tanks and research performing organisations. They are self- governing communities of leaders of scholarly enquiry across all fields of the natural sciences, the social sciences and the humanities. ALLEA therefore provides access to an unparalleled human resource of intellectual excellence, experience and expertise.
Independent from political, commercial and ideological interests, ALLEA’s policy work seeks to contribute to improving the framework conditions under which science and scholarship can excel. Jointly with its Member Academies, ALLEA is in a position to address the full range of structural and policy issues facing Europe in science, research and innovation. In doing so, it is guided by a common understanding of Europe bound together by historical, social and political factors as well as for scientific and economic reasons.

About Compagnia di San Paolo

The Compagnia di San Paolo, founded in 1563 as a charitable brotherhood, is today one of the largest private-law foundations in Europe. It pursues aims of public interest and social use, in order to foster the civil, cultural and economic development of the community in which it operates. The Compagnia is active in the sectors of Research and Health, Art, Cultural Heritage and Activities, Cultural Innovation, Social Policies, and Philanthropy.