Message from Prof Mariana Mazzucato, FINNOV Director:
FINNOV is a research collaboration between seven European institutions aimed at understanding the relationship between changing financial markets, innovation dynamics, and economic performance. Our work has assisted policy makers and European industry to understand the sources, implications and management of positive and negative changes in financial markets. Our key aim has been to think of ways that financial markets can be reformed so they better support innovation and long run growth—or put provocatively: finance for Schumpeterian creative destruction not destructive creation! Detailed policy messages can be found in our Policy Briefs. We presented our key results on Feb 2nd 2012, at a FINNOV conference in UK Parliament with keynote speeches by Minister of State David Willetts, and Shadow Science Minister Chi Onwurah. Although the European Commission’s 3 year FP7 funding for FINNOV officially ended in March 2012, FINNOV researchers are continuing to work together on new collaborations—such as through AIRNET and new grants such as an INET grant which connects finance and innovation through the work of Hyman Minsky and Joseph Schumpeter.
FINNOV Success Story
Fixing the economy by rewarding long-term investment in innovation
FINNOV Policy Briefs
FINNOV First Policy Brief (Do Financial Markets Reward Innovation?) (January 2010)
FINNOV Second Policy Brief (Dynamics of Financial Bubbles) (May 2011)
FINNOV Final Policy Brief (Reforming a Dysfunctional System) (February 2012)
The Rt Hon David Willetts MP (Minister of State, Universities and Science, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) addressing the FINNOV conference on Finance, Innovation and the UK Growth Strategy on 1 February 2012 in the House of Commons, London, United Kingdom. Together with Willetts are Prof Mariana Mazzucato (FINNOV Coordinator, University of Sussex) and Chi Onwurah MP (Member of the UK Parliament and Shadow Minister for Innovation & Science).
The financial service sector is an important component of modern service-based economies in Europe. Financial innovations have major impacts elsewhere in the economy but as the current financial crisis shows these interactions are poorly understood and difficult to manage. To ensure that European policy is supported by high-quality research, the FINNOV project has been funded through Theme 8 of the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Commission (Socio-Economic Sciences and the Humanities), under the topic "The role of finance in growth, employment and competitiveness in Europe (SSH -2007 - 1.2.3)”. The 3 year project started March 1, 2009 (total EC contribution €1,494,870).
The long-term economic performance of Europe depends on its ability to generate new knowledge and inventions, and then to translate inventions into economic adaptation and growth. Recent research has highlighted the critical role played by the supply of appropriate forms of finance within this process. The research being undertaken within the FINNOV project will improve understanding of the sources and roles of financial innovations within the wider economy, the changing roles of the financial system, and the implications of these changes for the social distribution of risks and rewards. Given the strong negative effect of the current financial crisis on many European economies, a central element of the FINNOV research programme will be to determine how European governments and institutions can ensure that the financial system supports investment in innovation in sustainable and equitable ways.
FINNOV team at the annual workshop in Prague, Czech Republic (May 2011)
from left to right, standing: Petr Zemcik, Antonios Kaniadakis, Andrea Mina, Roberto Simonetti, Giulio Bottazzi, Paul Nightingale, Henry Lahr, William Lazonick, Stuart Parris, Claude Dupuy, Olivier Brossard, Alan Shipman, Alan Hughes, Gabriele Tedeschi, Mariana Mazzucato, Steven Fazzari, Geoffrey Owen
sitting: Pelin Demirel, Jocelyn Probert, Tea Petrin, Mauro Gallegati, Dasha Ivkina, Stéphanie Lavigne
FINNOV is formed of seven work packages; each led by one of the participating institutions:
- The Open University, UK (Coordinator)
- University of Cambridge, UK
- Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Italy
- Polytechnic University of Marche, Italy
- Economics Institute, Czech Republic
- University of Bordeaux, France
- University of Sussex, UK
Disclaimer: The views expressed during the execution of the FINNOV project, in whatever form and or by whatever medium, are the sole responsibility of the authors. The European Union is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein
