Providing the Right Support for the Right Firms in the Right Places

With less funding available in the future, Professor Simon Collinson discusses the need for national and local agencies to provide targeted support to the right kind of businesses to help achieve better regional growth. This blog post was produced for inclusion in the Birmingham Economic Review for 2021. The annual Birmingham Economic Review is produced … Continue reading “Providing the Right Support for the Right Firms in the Right Places”

Financial Support for Businesses in the West Midlands During Covid-19

George Bramley discusses the various national and regional financial support schemes that were set up to support businesses in the West Midlands during the pandemic. This blog post was produced for inclusion in the Birmingham Economic Review for 2021. The annual Birmingham Economic Review is produced by City-REDI, University of Birmingham and the Greater Birmingham … Continue reading “Financial Support for Businesses in the West Midlands During Covid-19”

Labour Market Disconnect in the West Midlands

In this blog, Dr Juliane Schwarz summarises the key issues on why there are currently high levels of unemployment in the region, whilst at the same time, record numbers of vacancies for jobs and apprenticeships. View the full policy briefing on the labour market disconnect. The research is a response to a query by the … Continue reading “Labour Market Disconnect in the West Midlands”

Income Inequality, Policies and Inclusive Growth

Dr Maryna Ramcharan discusses her new report examining income inequality in the UK at a regional level with a particular focus on the West Midlands.  Visit the project page and view the report  – Income Inequality, Policies and Inclusive Growth  The UK has a very high level of income inequality compared to other countries. Income … Continue reading “Income Inequality, Policies and Inclusive Growth”

The Great Resignation, The Great Reset, The Great Reshuffle and The Great Retention

Rebecca Riley discusses the current high levels of resignations, the movement towards flexible working, changing business models and the fight to keep employees. For a number of editions of the West Midlands Economic Impact Monitor, we have been reporting that many sectors are experiencing high levels of vacancies; whilst labour market data shows that unemployment … Continue reading “The Great Resignation, The Great Reset, The Great Reshuffle and The Great Retention”

Business Support: Referrals to Regional Universities by the GBSLEP Growth Hub

In this blog, Freya Williams, Alice Pugh and Juliane Schwarz examine the referral of businesses by the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) Growth Hub to universities in the West Midlands, including what sectors they come from, the size of businesses and what kind of support they receive.  GBSLEP Growth Hub The Greater … Continue reading “Business Support: Referrals to Regional Universities by the GBSLEP Growth Hub”

The Future of UK Employment in a Post-Pandemic World

Dr Abigail Taylor and Ben Harrison analyse the impact of the COVID-19 on employment to date before discussing what the future might hold. It also introduces the Social Policy Association’s ‘Employment Policy in Context’ group, explaining the group’s aims, plans for the coming year and how to get involved. This blog was first posted on … Continue reading “The Future of UK Employment in a Post-Pandemic World”

City-REDI Policy Briefing: Which Kinds of Firms Contribute Most to Regional Growth?

In this policy briefing, Dr Fengjie Pan and Professor Simon Collinson look at why some firms and sectors make a larger contribution to local and regional economies than others.   Many City-REDI projects aim to help policymakers optimise the use of scarce public resources to promote economic growth and wellbeing locally and regionally. Some of these policies … Continue reading “City-REDI Policy Briefing: Which Kinds of Firms Contribute Most to Regional Growth?”

City-REDI Policy Briefing: Improving Understanding and Measurement of Productivity

In this policy briefing, Dr Magda Cepeda Zorrilla, Professor Anne Green, Dr Chloe Billing, Professor Simon Collinson and Dr Fengjie Pan report on the findings of their study which collected data from 300 firms across the West Midlands, examining what managers at these companies understood productivity to be, the policy implications of their varied understanding … Continue reading “City-REDI Policy Briefing: Improving Understanding and Measurement of Productivity”

Measuring the Distance to the Sustainable Development Goals in the UK Regions: How Is the West Midlands Performing?

In this blog, Professor Raquel Ortega-Argilés discusses the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) introduced by the United Nations in their 2030 Agenda. How the UK and the West Midlands is performing in comparison to other regions, and what impact COVID-19 will have on meeting these goals.  In September 2015, the General Assembly of the United … Continue reading “Measuring the Distance to the Sustainable Development Goals in the UK Regions: How Is the West Midlands Performing?”