I went to an interesting talk this week by Mariana Mazzucato at the Institute for Public Policy Research in London. In her new book, The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Myths, Mariana makes the argument that states shape markets. States drive innovation through their investments in basic research and new ideas. At her talk at IPPR, she focused on how every major technology behind the iPhone owes its success to public funds. The book looks at a variety of other examples. I look forward to reading it.