A tale of two cities: Rescaling economic strategy in the North Midlands

an article by Will Rossiter (Nottingham Trent University, UK) published in Local Economy Volume 31 Issue 8 (December 2016)

Abstract

This paper addresses the implementation (or mediation) of industrial policy at the regional and local level in the northern sub-region of the English East Midlands. At the heart of both New Labour and Coalition Government policy on local and regional economic development was a simple proposition to the effect that if decision-making for economic development could be better aligned to ‘functional economic geographies’, better economic outcomes should result.

The abolition of Regional Development Agencies and creation of Local Enterprise Partnerships brought this proposition into sharp focus. This paper explores the consequences of this shift in the spatial scale of decision making for the development process and policy content of place based economic strategies.

Strategies produced for three ‘nested’ geographic areas in the north midlands are compared. An apparent tension between economic development and institutional trajectories is considered.

Full text (PDF)

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