On Project Syndicate, Mariana Mazzucato responds to Larry Fink’s annual letter, calling for a more rigorous and comprehensive understanding of stakeholders, including the government and employees.

Why do drug prices not reflect the original public contribution (even when the government reserves “march-in” rights that require pharmaceutical companies to license their products)? Why are intellectual-property rights so strong as to inhibit knowledge sharing?

Part of the answer is that the compact between the private and public sectors – stipulating everything from legal proprietorship to privacy – is excessively weighted in favor of business. Moreover, the same companies that have benefited from publicly funded innovations now plow millions of dollars into lobbying for regressive regulations and tax policies, all to support their bottom lines. Countering this undue influence will require ambitious new regulations to enhance corporate accountability and transparency, starting with reforming the 10-K disclosure rules that have allowed Big Tech companies to conceal their operations.

Larry Fink’s Capitalist Shell Game by Mariana Mazzucato – Project Syndicate