Bridging the gap: intergenerational equity in resource management

As the complexities of modern economies grow, traditional approaches to industrial policy face increasing scrutiny. For decades, debates have raged about how governments can intervene to foster innovation, address market failures, and create sustainable development paths. Today, industrial policy has undergone a transformation, and now embraces elements of market liberalism. In this episode of Innovation Matters, Professor Michael Munger from Duke University explores these issues, suggesting that industrial policy often oscillates between two extremes: setting the foundational rules of the game for markets to thrive and directly managing industry outcomes through subsidies, regulations, or nationalization. He highlights the inherent tensions in these approaches, including the risks of rent-seeking, misaligned incentives, and the difficulty of predicting which innovations will succeed.

As the pace of technological change accelerates, the limitations of our existing legal systems are becoming increasingly apparent. Traditional frameworks, designed for a slower and less complex world, struggle to keep up with the challenges posed by globalization, digitalization, and emerging technologies. There is a growing need for innovative approaches to lawmaking that can support both the rapid pace of innovation and the protection of societal values. In this episode, Profesor Gillian Hadfield from the University of Toronto discusses the importance of reimagining legal infrastructure to better align with the demands of our rapidly changing world.

UNECE explores issues around sustainable resource management and intergenerational equity with Jodi-Ann Wang, Grantham Research Institute, London School of Economics (LSE), member of UNECE's Resource Management Young Member Group (RMYMG).