Governments and Markets in the Digital Age

By Antonio Calcara

31.01.2024

International Studies Review

The academic literature has revamped its interest in economic statecraft, geoeconomics, geopoliticization of trade and technology sectors, and in the role of value chains as vectors for exerting control over critical technologies. However, there has been less reflection on state-market relations in the production of technological innovation and on the evolution of government business relations. Four recent books address these two important issues from different angles. Mazzucato and Mallaby’s books focus on the right mix of state and market needed to stimulate technological innovation, and they do so from opposite perspectives. Chen and Ripley’s books look, respectively, at the rise of Tencent as one of China’s major big tech companies and the rise of SpaceX as a key private player in the traditionally state-led US space market. These two books are therefore of interest to gauge the evolving relations between government and private businesses in two key areas of current geopolitical competition, the digital and the space sectors. The aim of this review essay is not only to briefly summarize the content of these books and their strengths and weaknesses, but also to use them as a starting point to reflect on the mix of state and market in the production of innovation, and on government-businesses relations in digital markets.

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