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Doing Capitalism in the Innovation Economy: Markets, Speculation and the State
Combining insights from a lifetime's career in venture capitalism and a sophisticated understanding of the most up-to-date scholarship, William H. Janeway provides an accessible pathway for readers to appreciate the dynamics of the interaction between the state, financiers and entrepreneurs in the innovation economy.
340 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 8, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 23, 2018
The title is unfortunate as it will be off-putting to exactly the crowd that will love this book. This is a pragmatic approach to reconfiguring capitalism, economics and innovation for it to be more fruitful for society as a whole. If you want to get a good intro check this podcast interview with Bill: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/...
July 14, 2018
Janeway's book marries a formal academic perspective in Economics with that of a successful private equity practitioner's. Drawing from a rich body of autobiographical, historical, and theoretical literature and experience, Janeway offers a compelling case for the role of the state in catalyzing innovation. He proposes the "Three Player Game" comprising of the market economy, financial capitalism, and the state, outlining the roles each have played in modern history. He argues that innovation necessarily occurs through a sustained period of waste sponsored by economic or political agents that do not seek economic return; this implies a positive role for the state in the economy that is refreshing both because it is subversive to the dogmas of market fundamentalism and neoclassical economics and because it offers a cautiously optimistic view for our economic future.
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October 31, 2013I really enjoyed this, and though I'm not qualified to evaluate how faithfully Janeway uses his sources or if he makes them say things they didn't, I found his argument compelling.
The book takes on what Janeway calls the "three-player game" that prevails in the innovation economy: the government, the markets, and what Jameway calls the financial industry, which to me is indistinguishable from venture capital but which in technical circles is probably only partly that.
Among the interesting ideas that Janeway promotes is that bubbles are good, for the way they incentivize and draw attention and capital to innovation, allowing for the 99 failures that surround the one success. We're so used to thinking of bubbles as unnatural and bad, it's refreshing to hear someone treat them as a natural, and desirable, part of the business cycle.
Janeway also pushes for stronger govt intervention in markets, not just as regulators, but also as financiers who serve a key purpose in being able to support projects before they are viable. I think today or yesterday, Tom Coburn is putting out another list of wasteful govt spending-- I read Janeway's conclusion last night wishing I could cc it to Coburn's office, to show him what govt can do that nearly no one else can do, and what the value of that is.
At any rate, this was really smart, and helped me to better understand some of the theory behind the market gyrations I'm interested in knowing more about. A good book, and one that I think has been overlooked.
The book takes on what Janeway calls the "three-player game" that prevails in the innovation economy: the government, the markets, and what Jameway calls the financial industry, which to me is indistinguishable from venture capital but which in technical circles is probably only partly that.
Among the interesting ideas that Janeway promotes is that bubbles are good, for the way they incentivize and draw attention and capital to innovation, allowing for the 99 failures that surround the one success. We're so used to thinking of bubbles as unnatural and bad, it's refreshing to hear someone treat them as a natural, and desirable, part of the business cycle.
Janeway also pushes for stronger govt intervention in markets, not just as regulators, but also as financiers who serve a key purpose in being able to support projects before they are viable. I think today or yesterday, Tom Coburn is putting out another list of wasteful govt spending-- I read Janeway's conclusion last night wishing I could cc it to Coburn's office, to show him what govt can do that nearly no one else can do, and what the value of that is.
At any rate, this was really smart, and helped me to better understand some of the theory behind the market gyrations I'm interested in knowing more about. A good book, and one that I think has been overlooked.
September 30, 2014
A wholistic view on how innovation is funded by both private organizations and the state is presented by a practician and a theorist.
It has quite a few cases told by an insider and a review of the theoretical representations.
A three-player game of innovation is discussed: the enterprise, the state and the capital.
Bubbles are viewed as a natural phenomena and as a driver for disruptive technologies.
Policy for the private organization is offered to venture into the space with radical uncertainty: cash and control.
And finally the policy for the state is offered as a combination of tolerance to Shumpeterian waste in the growth phase and a Keynesian approach to economic crisis management: investments by the state disconnected from profitability criteria to bridge the decreased demand.
It has quite a few cases told by an insider and a review of the theoretical representations.
A three-player game of innovation is discussed: the enterprise, the state and the capital.
Bubbles are viewed as a natural phenomena and as a driver for disruptive technologies.
Policy for the private organization is offered to venture into the space with radical uncertainty: cash and control.
And finally the policy for the state is offered as a combination of tolerance to Shumpeterian waste in the growth phase and a Keynesian approach to economic crisis management: investments by the state disconnected from profitability criteria to bridge the decreased demand.
May 3, 2020
I learned a lot from reading this book, and not just from Bill Janeway but also from his fantastic exposition of other peoples work. If there is one message from this book it is that we are all standing on the shoulders of giants and that we, if we want to truly get the best from our societies, should recognise, celebrate and enjoy this fantastic heritage of knowledge which we inherit just from being born into this age.
The first stage of the book is a very long introduction, which I think is too long and would better, at least partially, function as an epilogue at the end as opposed to trying to tell you at the beginning what he spends the book elucidating.
The part of the book which deals with Mr Janeway's achievements is odd as it serves as a backdrop to the conclusions in the latter part of the book but does tend to (inevitably) drop into the business biography world of name dropping, jargon and meaningless pleasantries about somewhat faceless corporate personas.
The final part of the book is truly the best part, the ideas explored in the economic area are relevant, thought provoking and, shockingly for a business book, truly unique. I loved the way the author explores topics dispassionately. It is not Marxian in that he does not rubbish other commentators while explaining his own theories.
The final comment I would leave is that he touches on the consilience topic, ie, the blending of the social and natural science disciplines into a more developed understanding of our human (economic and political) world. He could do with reading Consilience by Edward Wilson, who covered this some time ago but failed to make the leap due to his dedication to his own branch of science.
The first stage of the book is a very long introduction, which I think is too long and would better, at least partially, function as an epilogue at the end as opposed to trying to tell you at the beginning what he spends the book elucidating.
The part of the book which deals with Mr Janeway's achievements is odd as it serves as a backdrop to the conclusions in the latter part of the book but does tend to (inevitably) drop into the business biography world of name dropping, jargon and meaningless pleasantries about somewhat faceless corporate personas.
The final part of the book is truly the best part, the ideas explored in the economic area are relevant, thought provoking and, shockingly for a business book, truly unique. I loved the way the author explores topics dispassionately. It is not Marxian in that he does not rubbish other commentators while explaining his own theories.
The final comment I would leave is that he touches on the consilience topic, ie, the blending of the social and natural science disciplines into a more developed understanding of our human (economic and political) world. He could do with reading Consilience by Edward Wilson, who covered this some time ago but failed to make the leap due to his dedication to his own branch of science.
Want to read
December 15, 2021kanyi maqubela 2021
April 9, 2013
one of the better economic books i have read in a very long time. paints a great picture how the difference forces (market, finance, state) can work together (or not) and how bubbles can be positive drivers of innovation. what sets this book apart from many other economics books is that Janeway differentiates between different market players and looks at what motives them, what the good sides and bad sides are of those players, and how if they work together they have a huge impact on economic progress. i can only highly recommend this book. it is not always the easiest to read, at points maybe a bit repetitive but the ideas make more than up for those minor flaws.
October 14, 2014
Dense with insight and analysis. I'll have to read it again sometime.
December 23, 2019
Must read
February 23, 2014
Gave up mid way through book
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews