Book Launch - The Common Good Economy: a new compass

At a moment when interconnected crises—from climate breakdown to deepening inequality, from health emergencies to housing affordability—demand coordinated action, we need more than incremental fixes to failing systems. In The Common Good Economy (forthcoming June 2026), Prof. Mariana Mazzucato advances new economic thinking grounded in a simple premise: we cannot create good without a clear theory of what the good looks like.

For too long, economics has treated “the good”—whether framed as public goods or the commons—as a correction to market failure, trapping policy in a reactive mode rather than enabling societies to build the economies they need. Prof. Mazzucato instead places the common good at the centre of economic purpose, supported by five guiding principles that emphasise that how collective goals are pursued matters as much as the goals themselves.

On the occasion of the IIPP Forum explores how this framework comes to life through efforts to rethink the role of the state across different levels of governance—from the capabilities cities need to deliver for their citizens, to the tools and institutions national governments require to shape markets around grand challenges.

Building state capacity is central to this work. IIPP’s Public Sector Capabilities Index brings this analysis to the city level, identifying the dynamic capabilities that enable governments to sense opportunities, build coalitions, experiment and adapt delivery systems over time. At the same time, IIPP’s collaboration with Brazil’s Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services is developing institutional tools—from mission-oriented procurement to reimagined state-owned enterprises and digital public infrastructure—that enable governments to actively shape markets.

These are not separate agendas but interconnected expressions of the same imperative: capable states working in symbiotic relationships with business, labour and communities to shape economies that serve people and planet.

As UCL marks its bicentenary by asking how knowledge can help address humanity’s greatest challenges, offers both rigorous analysis and a practical compass for the transformations ahead. Drawing on IIPP’s research and collaborations with governments around the world, this year’s Forum highlights the theory, the policy experiments and the places where a new economics is already taking shape—and invites participants to help build it.

Key information

• When: Tuesday 16th June at 18:00 - 19:30 BST.
• Where: Senate House, Beveridge Hall.

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If you have any queries around access, please get in touch with a member of the team ([email protected]).

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Beveridge Hall, Malet Street, London, United Kingdom

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