In a new paper, The Innovation Economy Industrial Policy for the 21st Century, George Freeman MP and Kwasi Kwarteng MP outline a plan to foster entrepreneurship and help UK business.
Britain’s economy has become unbalanced in recent years. It is overly dependent on the city and cheap credit, unsustainable rises in public sector spending, and trading with the sclerotic Eurozone.
In the past, Governments sought to rebalance the economy through industrial policy, protecting and subsidising sectors and regions that were seen as the future. These policies had a very mixed record. In Britain, they largely failed to protect manufacturing jobs or turn around out of date industries. Policies that restricted competition proved counterproductive, holding back Britain’s post-war economy. However, there were also other varieties of industrial policy which did have some success, encouraging new firms and investment.
At the heart of today’s imbalances is a lack of innovation. Britain should become the friendliest nation for start-ups in the world. Instead of fearing competition, we should encourage it. The Government should itself think like an entrepreneur, taking advantage of new technology, exploring new markets and fully utilising its’ assets. Rather than hide ourselves away behind protectionist barriers, we should look to become a world trading hub.
The-Innovation-Economy-May-2013