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Economic development is too complex to be micromanaged from the top down. It also suffers from the kind of trade barriers this plan advocates. Most importantly

Economic development is too complex to be micromanaged from the top down. It also suffers from the kind of trade barriers this plan advocates. Most importantly, all economic development initiatives face an uphill challenge if the underlying macro conditions aren't right. The solution for the UK, the EU and Canada is simple but politically anathema: cut taxes A 2018 study shows tax increases significantly reduce innovation. A 1% increase in the top marginal income tax rate leads to a 2% reduction in patents and inventors, while a similar increase in corporate taxes causes even larger declines. The study is quite rigorous too: https://open.substack.com/pub/maximumprogress/p/tax-cuts-and-innovation https://open.substack.com/pub/maximumprogress/p/tax-cuts-and...

nottorp 1y ago
This is about software. Companies patent software just to have legal ammunition to fight other companies that patent software. # of patents in software is not a measure of innovation but of how litigious the business environment is. > Helicopter money by supplying large amounts of funds How about "helicopter money" for any EU cloud provider that develops tools to migrate data out of the big US providers? After all, no matter which US cloud provider you choose, you're locked in even wrt to other US cloud providers.
- raxxorraxor 1y ago
  Patens aren't a good indicator for software, but it can be a metric for the ability to innovate. And this probably can be applied to software, not the patents themselves. Capital collected by the state is just so much less effective.
TFYS 1y ago
Does this innovation in the form of patents increase the quality of life in the country? Not everything is fixed by "numbers go up", it matters where those numbers end up. If they end up in the hands of the wealthy, the quality of life for the average person will most likely decrease or stagnate at best. Taxation is at the moment the only realistic way (stronger unions might work as well) to make sure that not all of the gains from innovation go to the already wealthy. The average person in many parts of Europe is more satisfied with their life than the average person in the US and other more business friendly countries, even if the numbers are lower on paper. So even if cutting taxes would help create the kind of innovation the EU needs, it might not be worth the cost. We need to come up with ways to encourage innovation that don't involve giving more wealth and power to those who already have the most.

nottorp 1y ago

This is about software. Companies patent software just to have legal ammunition to fight other companies that patent software. # of patents in software is not a measure of innovation but of how litigious the business environment is. > Helicopter money by supplying large amounts of funds How about "helicopter money" for any EU cloud provider that develops tools to migrate data out of the big US providers? After all, no matter which US cloud provider you choose, you're locked in even wrt to other US cloud providers.

raxxorraxor 1y ago
Patens aren't a good indicator for software, but it can be a metric for the ability to innovate. And this probably can be applied to software, not the patents themselves. Capital collected by the state is just so much less effective.

TFYS 1y ago

Does this innovation in the form of patents increase the quality of life in the country? Not everything is fixed by "numbers go up", it matters where those numbers end up. If they end up in the hands of the wealthy, the quality of life for the average person will most likely decrease or stagnate at best. Taxation is at the moment the only realistic way (stronger unions might work as well) to make sure that not all of the gains from innovation go to the already wealthy. The average person in many parts of Europe is more satisfied with their life than the average person in the US and other more business friendly countries, even if the numbers are lower on paper. So even if cutting taxes would help create the kind of innovation the EU needs, it might not be worth the cost. We need to come up with ways to encourage innovation that don't involve giving more wealth and power to those who already have the most.