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Blogs
West Midlands Economic Monitor: February 2020
February’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 shows that regional PMI data has rebounded to growth, whilst economic growth in Q2 2018 – Q2 2019 was mostly due to service sector contraction. House-building is at a record high and the employment rate has risen again.
Professional and Business Services Sector: Creating Further Demand and Growth Outside London – New Report Released
The UK’s poor productivity performance continues to be of much debate in policy and research and is central to the development of the Industrial Strategy. This research focussed on how the Professional and Business Services (PBS) sector can contribute to Local Industrial Strategies and create growth both within the sector and be a driver of growth in other sectors. It takes our understanding of the sector beyond London and looks at what part it can play in redistributing wealth and helping to build strong places outside its traditional centre.
WM REDI Launch Shows the Region Is Ready to Rise to the Challenge
An exciting new University of Birmingham research institute, the West Midlands Regional Economic Development Institute (WM REDI) was launched on Monday 3rd February. It is an unprecedented partnership between key regional organisations and stakeholders, who have come together to find ways to deliver an effective inclusive growth vision and meet the economic challenges and opportunities of the future.
Publications
City REDI – WM REDI 2020 review
Learn more about the impact City REDI has had in the past four years along with our plans for the future, including the exciting development of WM REDI as a new champion for our region.
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 the Just City research project draws to a close, here are some of the conclusions reached on the state of the city’s urban and economic development, along with some recommendations for the future.
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