Impatient capital can destroy firms promising to deliver government-financed technology to the masses, but critics often focus on the government as the source of failure rather than examining the behaviour of the smart, profit-hungry business community in producing that failure by jumping ship, restricting their total commitments or demanding financial returns over all other considerations. If VCs aren’t interested in capital-intensive industries, or in building factories, what exactly are they offering in terms of economic development? Their role should be seen for what it is: limited. More importantly, the difficulties faced by the growing clean technology industry should highlight the need for better policy support—not less, given that existing financing models favour investors and not the public interest.
— The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths by Mariana Mazzucato (Page 141)
