NASA research, for instance, is responsible for the kidney dialysis and mammogram machines that we use today.

Research in new technologies not only produces private benefits to the investing firm, or in this case to NASA, but it

also creates benefits for the broader society. In this way, new knowledge often becomes what economists refer to

as a public good. This leads us to the topic of this chapter—technology, positive externalities, public goods, and the

role of government in encouraging innovation and the social benefits that it provides.

As economist Mariana Mazzucato explores in her well-known work The Entrepreneurial State, what makes a

smartphone smart? What allows its apps to help you navigate new towns while getting updates about your

home, all while your hands are on the steering wheel and your children are in the back seat watching their
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