the private VC industry’s share of the rewards tends to be about 20 per cent, excluding other fees and charges; by contrast, the public sector’s direct share is close to nil. The public sector is generally deemed to reap its rewards in other, more indirect ways: through taxation or from the benefits of products with high quality and low cost. Not only is this a way of thinking that all but ignores the crucial and risky early investments made by public funds in innovation; it disproportionally privileges the later, private investors in terms of rewards.
