Last summer, the BC NDP government retained Mariana Mazzucato, a celebrity academic who is a professor at University College London (UCL), “to advise on the future of the economy as B.C. develops a long-term … plan that will steer the province through the post-pandemic era.”

The government asked Mazzucato to develop ideas for aligning public-sector capabilities, financing mechanisms and citizen engagement with a new innovation strategy aimed at creating a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

This stream of pleasing buzz words doesn’t provide much insight into the substance of the economic plan the NDP government intends to finalize, with input from the professor and her team, in the coming months. A solid plan to boost prosperity and foster innovation that embraces some fresh thinking would be welcome. But if, as the government’s briefing material indicated, the economic plan will “build on B.C.’s long-standing advantages and reflect people’s values,” several fundamental realities will need to inform the strategy…read more.