‘Plumber phobia’ and the Brexit services trade dilemma

This blog was originally posted on the Birmingham Business School blog. Europe Day is upon us again and provides an ideal opportunity to reflect upon European integration in the face of Brexit. In 1985, the 9th May was designated as Europe Day by the European Union (EU) – then the European Community – to celebrate the … Continue reading “‘Plumber phobia’ and the Brexit services trade dilemma”

Wolverhampton Wanderers Return to the English Premier League: Football, Property and Local Economic Development

Greetings from Singapore. Singapore is perhaps a strange place to reflect on Wolverhampton Wanderers and its return to the English Premier League. But, like Wolverhampton, Singapore is a very special place with an interesting collection of strategic assets. All this is to argue that a place, a city, a town or a ward is defined … Continue reading “Wolverhampton Wanderers Return to the English Premier League: Football, Property and Local Economic Development”

Birmingham Policy Lab: Diversity and minority ethnic entrepreneurship in the West Midlands – 15 May 2018, 12:00 – 16:20

The University of Birmingham would like to invite you to a Birmingham Policy Lab workshop to explore the theme of diversity and minority ethnic entrepreneurship in the West Midlands.  The event will be held from 12:00 – 16:20 (including lunch) on Tuesday 15 May 2018 at the Nishkam Civic Association in Handsworth. Overview This Birmingham … Continue reading “Birmingham Policy Lab: Diversity and minority ethnic entrepreneurship in the West Midlands – 15 May 2018, 12:00 – 16:20”

Raising productivity in low-wage sectors and reducing poverty

On 2nd May the Joseph Rowntree Foundation is holding a conference on Using the Industrial Strategy to support higher performance and wages in the retail and hospitality sectors. City-REDI’s Professor Anne Green and Dr Amir Qamar, along with Dr Paul Sissons and Dr Kevin Broughton at Coventry University, were commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation … Continue reading “Raising productivity in low-wage sectors and reducing poverty”

The issues facing workers today: ‘Good Work’, ‘Fulfilling Work’ and the ‘Fair Employment’ Agendas

Headline indicators of the state of the labour market in the UK today highlight employment at record levels. Data from the Labour Force Survey for the three months ending in February 2018 show that were 32.26 million people in work. This is 427,000 more than in the previous year. The employment rate (which measures the … Continue reading “The issues facing workers today: ‘Good Work’, ‘Fulfilling Work’ and the ‘Fair Employment’ Agendas”

Metro-Mayors: Can they address UK Regional Inequality?

Professor Simon Collinson discusses the need to devolve power in the UK to address the economic imbalance between London and the South East and the rest of the UK. Metro Mayors can potentially be a powerful instrument to promote regional growth which is critical to the long-term social and political stability of the country.   In … Continue reading “Metro-Mayors: Can they address UK Regional Inequality?”

West Midlands socio-economic health check: Labour market

The middle of April has brought us the latest release of the Annual Population Survey. The survey is the most comprehensive socio-economic picture we have for a range of geographies from the national to the local level. In this blog, we will examine the information on labour markets for January to December 2017 and compare … Continue reading “West Midlands socio-economic health check: Labour market”

The Economic Impacts of Brexit on the UK, its Regions, its Cities and its Sectors: Participatory Workshops

Our ESRC funded Brexit project, as part of the UK in a Changing Europe Initiative, aims to examine in detail the likely impacts of Brexit on the UK’s sectors, regions, and cities. Our analysis draws upon the most detailed regional-national-international trade and competition datasets currently available anywhere in the world, allowing us to examine the impacts of … Continue reading “The Economic Impacts of Brexit on the UK, its Regions, its Cities and its Sectors: Participatory Workshops”

City-REDI publications series: Professor Simon Collinson – MNE microfoundations and routines for building a legitimate and sustainable position in emerging markets

As part of a new blog series, we will be highlighting the excellent research produced by the City-REDI team since 2015, with the aim of creating an online searchable library. You can view this work by searching the blog with the relevant tag, either using the name of the author or the year of the publication. The … Continue reading “City-REDI publications series: Professor Simon Collinson – MNE microfoundations and routines for building a legitimate and sustainable position in emerging markets”

Perspectives from the AAG Annual Meeting 2018, New Orleans

This blog gives the perspective of two academics attending the AAG Annual Meeting 2018 in New Orleans. The first part of the blog is from Professor John Bryson, City-REDI, University of Birmingham, and the second part written by Dr. Vida Vanchan, State University of New York (SUNY), who is co-organising two sessions at the conference with Professor … Continue reading “Perspectives from the AAG Annual Meeting 2018, New Orleans”