Income contingent loans for business innovation

Income contingent loans have principally been considered in the field of higher education, both in matters of analysis and in practical application. However the underlying issues can also be seen to apply to the wider world of ideas and especially for the case of business innovation. It is argued in this chapter that income contingent loans, subject to important complementary policy conditions, potentially offer a highly cost-effective option for government support for business innovation. Such an approach would focus public dollars on the core financing problem for much innovation and provide a financial as well as wider return on those dollars for the community, including for ploughing back into the scheme itself. It is affirmed that such an approach would also likely have substantial public support.