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Investing in Innovation

Confronting Predatory Value Extraction in the U.S. Corporation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2023

William Lazonick
Affiliation:
The Academic-Industry Research Network

Summary

Business corporations interact with household units and government agencies to make investments in productive capabilities required to generate innovative goods and services. When they work harmoniously, these three types of organizations constitute 'the investment triad'. The Biden administration's Build Back Better agenda to restore sustainable prosperity in the United States has focused on investment in productive capabilities by government agencies and household units. Largely absent from the Biden agenda have been policy initiatives to ensure that, given government and household investment in productive capabilities, the governance of major U.S. business corporations supports investment in innovation. This Element explains how corporate financialization, manifested by predatory value extraction in the name of 'maximizing shareholder value', undermines investment in innovation in the United States. It concludes by outlining a policy framework, beginning with a ban on stock buybacks, that confronts predatory value extraction and puts in place social institutions that support sustainable prosperity.
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Investing in Innovation
  • William Lazonick, The Academic-Industry Research Network
  • Online ISBN: 9781009410700
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Investing in Innovation
  • William Lazonick, The Academic-Industry Research Network
  • Online ISBN: 9781009410700
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Investing in Innovation
  • William Lazonick, The Academic-Industry Research Network
  • Online ISBN: 9781009410700
Available formats
×