Mission oriented economies: putting human rights at the centre- with Mariana Mazzucato

This week, we speak to Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value, about creating ’mission-oriented economies’ that place human rights and the common good at their centre.Rather than simply fixing market failures, Professor Mazzucato argues that governments must shape markets around bold societal missions – from achieving net zero to ensuring health for all. This requires fundamental changes: moving from being ‘lenders of last resort’ to ‘investors of first resort’, setting conditions on public funding to ensure risks and rewards are shared, and building state capacity for long-term public value creation.She makes the case for mission-oriented development banks that don't just de-risk private investment, but actively direct patient capital towards transformational change. From redesigning procurement policies to embedding conditionalities in public-private partnerships, this approach demands a new social contract between business, government and communities - one that prioritises public value over shareholder value and ensures that collectiveintelligence leads to collectively shared rewards. Human rights are a key framework to guide these transformations. Topics/Chapters(00:00) Introduction of Mariana Mazzucato and "Mission-oriented economies: putting human rights at the centre" (01:01) ‘Shaping’ instead of ‘Fixing’ the free market(03:09) The concept of ‘mission-oriented’ economies: reshaping the economy with purpose and agency(08:25) Putting HRs at the center of this ‘mission’(20:13) Integrating human rights into the financing for development: addressing the dysfunctional dynamics of the current international financial system and intentionally reshaping where the money goes(31:34) Integrating Human Rights principles into the financing for development: redistributive policies but also promotion of agency and dignity(39:48) Conclusion: Call to Action to the listenersIf you’d like to learn more about the Human Rights Economy, the work of OHCHR or UNSSC, check ⁠⁠Economies that work-for all Podcast | Trello⁠