Entrepreneurial state, mission-oriented innovation policies and renewable energy transition: justifications, principles and evaluation

Abstract

Renewable energies are central to overcoming carbon lock-in and combating climate change, and the State is an important player in the development of these technologies. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to explore the role of the entrepreneurial state in mission-oriented innovation policies to promote the renewable energy transition. It highlights the aspects related to the: a) justifications, in contrast to the justifications of market failures and national innovation systems; b) the essential principles that guide the design and conduction of these policies; and c) the unsolved problem related to the instruments of evaluation of its dynamic impacts.