September’s edition of the West Midlands Economic Monitor is now available for you to keep up to date with recent developments in the region. This month posted mixed performance data for the region, with current figures showing a PMI of 47.5, whilst ONS data showed the West Midlands grew faster than any other region in … Continue reading “West Midlands Economic Monitor: September 2019”
Category: Policy
What is the Extent of Devolution in England?
Across the UK there is a range of devolution models in operation. This blog will consider the form that devolution takes among the new combined authorities in England and the Greater London Authority in the capital. It is part of a series of blog looking at devolution and follows on from a previous blog asking … Continue reading “What is the Extent of Devolution in England?”
What Is the Point of Devolution?
It is not uncommon to hear that the UK is the most centralised country in the developed world. London utterly dominates the rest of the country to an extent that is quite remarkable. From politics to business, media to culture, the wealth and power of the UK is almost entirely within London’s orbit. Indeed, if … Continue reading “What Is the Point of Devolution?”
The Long-Run Consequences of Adverse Economic Shocks: UK Regional and Urban Inequalities
The UK today is deeply divided between prosperous places and lagging regions. The UK economy has become extremely unbalanced, in the sense that the UK is now one of the world’s most inter-regionally unequal countries (Rice et al. 2006; Martin 2015; Martin et al. 2018; McCann 2019a,b). The prosperous parts of the UK today exhibit … Continue reading “The Long-Run Consequences of Adverse Economic Shocks: UK Regional and Urban Inequalities”
The Role of Embeddedness on Regional Economic Resilience: Evidence from the UK
In this blog, Tasos Kitsos outlines the main findings of joint research with André Carrascal-Incera and Raquel Ortega-Argilés on the role of local industrial embeddedness and economic resilience. A lot has been said and written on the importance of circular economies and local economic embeddedness for generating good growth and resilience. However, to date, it … Continue reading “The Role of Embeddedness on Regional Economic Resilience: Evidence from the UK”
West Midlands Economic Monitor: August 2019
August’s edition of the West Midlands Economic Monitor is now available for you to keep up to date with recent developments in the region. This month’s monitor reveals that PMI data has improved, the region is bucking the trend on investment and a tall-build boom in Birmingham continues to gain momentum. Get the latest edition … Continue reading “West Midlands Economic Monitor: August 2019”
Housing and Local Industrial Strategy: Reflections on the 100th Anniversary of the Addison Act
On 11 November 1918, the war to end all wars, World War 1, ended with the signing of the armistice. The next day, David Lloyd George, then UK prime minister, called a general election promising that the government would provide “habitations fit for the heroes who have won the war”. This became known as the … Continue reading “Housing and Local Industrial Strategy: Reflections on the 100th Anniversary of the Addison Act”
What is Smart Specialisation?
Welcome to part two in our new series “What is…?” where we explain the language, terms and ideas used in our day-to-day work. Other blogs from the series include: What is GVA? What is Transport Resilience? What are Industrial Clusters and Economies of Agglomeration? Definition and description Smart specialisation is a policy framework aimed at … Continue reading “What is Smart Specialisation?”
West Midlands Economic Monitor: July 2019
July’s edition of the West Midlands Economic Monitor is now available for you to keep up to date with recent developments in the region. This month’s monitor looks at the Midlands Rail Hub, digital skills, Quantum Technology Hubs, air pollution, and as always features analysis of the latest data about the region’s economic performance. Get … Continue reading “West Midlands Economic Monitor: July 2019”
Strengthening the Weapons of the Weak: Informality, Urban Reforms and Sub-Sahara African Cities
It is widely known that Africa during this century will experience significant demographic growth combined with enhanced urbanization. Managing urbanization and conducting urban reform in Sub-Sahara African cities is extremely challenging. There has been on-going international support to enhance city living including research and evidence on the strength of informal economies, informal settlements and informal … Continue reading “Strengthening the Weapons of the Weak: Informality, Urban Reforms and Sub-Sahara African Cities”