Putting value creation back into “public value”: from market-fixing to market-shaping

Abstract

In conventional economics, value creation occurs in the private sector with the state limited to correcting for “market failures”. Public management scholars have developed the term “public value” to describe how public sector managers can engage citizens in shaping effective policy. A more ambitious concept of public value rejects the “market failure” framework and puts public value at the centre of the economy. Public value is created by public sector actors creating and co-shaping markets in line with public purpose. This direction-setting role enables different sectors to collaborate to address major societal challenges, such as climate change and inequality.