Mazzucato also referred to the concept of 'mission economy', a concept she herself has developed, which consists of 'unpicking the governance structures which have led us astray'. She noted that while a large number of companies 'just focused on their share prices, short-term profits and quarterly returns', in the corporate world there are many forms of governance – some of which include civil organizations and trade unions on their boards – and our current working conditions are the result of hard-won fights.

One of the central premises of Mazzucato's work is that 'nothing is inevitable' and 'if you see the economy as an outcome, as a result of the decisions we make, we need to start holding ourselves very, very accountable for those decisions'.Īccording to Mazzucato, ' it is a mistake to think public institutions are there just to fix market failures', and they should be seen as another stakeholder in the co-creation of the economy, together with the private sector. She noted how it even has the word 'open' in its name, which echoes her thoughts: 'we have to start by setting goals, such as health and education for all, and then backtrack and design the economy to deliver on that' instead of the other way around. Mazzucato began her speech by highlighting the significance of being awarded an honorary doctorate by the UOC, a university that is strongly committed to ' education for all'. Also taking part were Àngels Fitó, UOC Vice President for Competitiveness and Employability Teresa Ribera, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, and Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona. Planell led the ceremony in Barcelona City Council's Saló de Cent. Mariana Mazzucato, renowned as one of the world's most influential economists, was awarded an honorary doctorate by the UOC on Thursday 3 February.

Mariana mazzucato mission