West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor – 1st May 2020

WM REDI has been tasked with providing an up to date monitor of the current Covid-19 economic impacts, on a weekly basis. These reports will help regional partners to shape responses and interventions to boost the region’s resilience so that it can thrive going forward. Each week the focus of the report is based on … Continue reading “West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor – 1st May 2020”

COVID-19: Unemployment and Labour Market Policy Priorities

A Brief History On 14 April 2020, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published a scenario in which the UK would see a real GDP fall of 35% in Q2 2020, followed by a quick bounce back. Under this same scenario, unemployment rises by more than 2 million to a total of 3.4 million (10%) … Continue reading “COVID-19: Unemployment and Labour Market Policy Priorities”

West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor – 24 April 2020

WM REDI has been tasked with providing an up to date monitor of the current COVID-19 economic impacts to help regional partners to shape responses and interventions to ensure the region continues to thrive. The weekly monitor brings together data and intelligence from the WM REDI partnership into one single source which can be shared … Continue reading “West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor – 24 April 2020”

City-REDI Book Club – Global City Makers: Economic Actors and Practices in the World City Network

In the second edition of the City-REDI Book Club, Dr Charlotte Hoole reviews “Global City Makers: Economic Actors and Practices in the World City Network” by Michael Hoyler, Christof Parnreiter and Allan Watson.  In an era of globalisation and rapid urbanisation, the city has become an important unit of analysis for understanding urban systems. This … Continue reading “City-REDI Book Club – Global City Makers: Economic Actors and Practices in the World City Network”

COVID-19 Business Support Measures: Insights from the UK, Spain and Ireland

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that COVID-19 will have far-reaching impacts on world labour market outcomes. The virus and the subsequent economic shocks will impact the world of work across three key dimensions: The number of jobs (both unemployment and underemployment) The quality of work (e.g. wages and access to social protection) Effects on … Continue reading “COVID-19 Business Support Measures: Insights from the UK, Spain and Ireland”

City-REDI Book Club – The Wealth and Poverty of Cities: Why Nations Matter

As the COVID-19 pandemic forces people to stay at home, it is increasingly changing our ways of living and working. Major phone networks and internet providers in the UK have reported a surge in demand whilst the online streaming platform Netflix has reduced its streaming quality to respond to increased traffic. Remote working tools such … Continue reading “City-REDI Book Club – The Wealth and Poverty of Cities: Why Nations Matter”

Economic Exposure to COVID-19 (Part III): The Situation in the West Midlands Region – The Sectoral Effects of a Lockdown

Like any good Hollywood blockbuster you can think of, here we finish the trilogy of blogs related to the economic exposure to COVID-19 of the West Midlands’ sectors [1]. If you are still reading this series and you are not overwhelmed yet by the amount of information (and disinformation) related to the pandemic, I hope … Continue reading “Economic Exposure to COVID-19 (Part III): The Situation in the West Midlands Region – The Sectoral Effects of a Lockdown”

City-REDI Weekly Update – 13th February 2020

Welcome to your weekly update. If you have any feedback please let us know. News John Goddard OBE Joins City-REDI as Professor of Universities and Cities John Goddard, Emeritus Professor of Regional Development Studies at Newcastle University and founder of the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS), is joining City-REDI, University of Birmingham … Continue reading “City-REDI Weekly Update – 13th February 2020”

New Report Released: Governance and Urban Development in Birmingham

For the past three years, an interdisciplinary (and international) team of geographers, political scientists and urban planners working across the universities of Birmingham and Zurich has been studying Birmingham’s urban development, governance, and social and economic trends from the year 2000 to present. Now, as our research project draws to a close, we have reached … Continue reading “New Report Released: Governance and Urban Development in Birmingham”

How Iceland Is Using Digital to Increase Public Participation in Politics

There are a few countries that immediately spring to mind when thinking about e-government, or the digital transformation of public services and using the internet to alter the relationship between the citizen and the state. Estonia is the poster child for this movement, with its digital voting platforms, e-residency for businesses and innovative information-sharing systems … Continue reading “How Iceland Is Using Digital to Increase Public Participation in Politics”