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”
Economic Exposure to COVID-19 (Part II): The Situation in the West Midlands Region – Demand for Health Services: The Invisible Indirect Workers
This is the second blog in a series on the economic exposure of the West Midlands region [1] to COVID-19. The first article talked about the effect on the main sectors and the employment depending on foreign trade, in an eventual case of international borders closure. You can read the first blog here. The second … Continue reading “Economic Exposure to COVID-19 (Part II): The Situation in the West Midlands Region – Demand for Health Services: The Invisible Indirect Workers”
Economic Exposure to COVID-19 (Part I): The Situation in the West Midlands Region – Closing the Borders
How can I help? That is the question I’ve been asking myself ever since I knew COVID-19 was approaching the UK. And it finally arrived, as expected, but it caught us unprepared, even though we have been observing speechless what was happening in many other countries around the corner, like Italy (where I have many … Continue reading “Economic Exposure to COVID-19 (Part I): The Situation in the West Midlands Region – Closing the Borders”
West Midlands Economic Monitor: March 2020
March’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 shows: PMI softened in February, but still depicted growth, and the claimant count has increased by over 20,000 people since last year. The global COVID-19 pandemic is beginning … Continue reading “West Midlands Economic Monitor: March 2020”
Capitalism and Its Impact on Global Living Standards
In a world where living standards have dramatically risen in the developed nations, technology and science are often credited with this outcome. Advancements in technology have created better farming techniques and increased food production. Medical science has eliminated disease and prolonged life through organ transplants, keyhole surgery and pacemakers. So how has capitalism impacted on … Continue reading “Capitalism and Its Impact on Global Living Standards”
UK Regional Productivity Variations and What Might be Driving These
Over the past decade, the gap between the UK’s productivity performance and other OECD countries has been widening. This is due to unusually slow growth rates in UK productivity since 2010 in spite of rising employment, leading to what has been termed the UK’s ‘productivity puzzle’. Within the UK, there are also vast variations in … Continue reading “UK Regional Productivity Variations and What Might be Driving These”
#Budget2020: Did the West Midlands Win Anything?
The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has now delivered his much-anticipated budget. It is the first UK budget since 2018 and has been given ahead of a Bank of England Rate interest rate cut from 0.75% to 0.25%. But, what will it mean for the regions of the UK, and more importantly what will it mean for … Continue reading “#Budget2020: Did the West Midlands Win Anything?”
When Weak Ties are Strong – Neighbour Analysis of Ethnic Enclaves
Presenter: Ozge Oner, Lecturer in Spatial Economics and Real Estate, Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge On the 4th March 2020, Ozge Oner presented her research work with fellow academics Professor Johan Klaesson, Research Institute of Industrial Economics and Dr Dieter Pennerstofer, Kepler University Linz. Below is an abstract and also a video recording … Continue reading “When Weak Ties are Strong – Neighbour Analysis of Ethnic Enclaves”
A First Look at Connections Between Creative Industry Presence and the Wider Urban Economy
Creative industries have long been a focus of urban researchers and policymakers. There is a good reason for this: creative industries tend to cluster heavily in cities. In the UK, for example, 53% of creative industries jobs and 44% of firms are found in just five cities. There is a large academic literature describing these … Continue reading “A First Look at Connections Between Creative Industry Presence and the Wider Urban Economy”
City-REDI Weekly Update – 5th March 2020
Welcome to your weekly update. If you have any feedback please let us know. Blogs Regional Productivity Differences, Skills and Inclusive Growth: Survey Findings What do employers in the West Midlands think productivity is? What acts to constrain innovation in their businesses, do they struggle to find employees with the right skills and are their … Continue reading “City-REDI Weekly Update – 5th March 2020”