After Regions: what next for local enterprise partnerships?

Standing out as an oddity in comparison to the convergence of policy across EU nations whereby the merits of regional apparatus – however defined – for administering development support appear to be accepted, the UK Government has abandoned England’s experiment with regionalism. Under the banner of localism, providing the thinnest of masks for swingeing public expenditure cuts, sub-national development activity (encompassing planning, regeneration, infrastructure development, enterprise support and spatial leadership) is in the throes of considerable economic shifts, policy flux and institutional upheaval (Ward & Hardy, 2012). This article attempts to address some of the questions posed in The regional lacuna: a preliminary map of the transition from Regional Development Agencies to Local Economic Partnerships (Pugalis, 2011) and helps to advance some of the points relating to the emerging sub-national development landscape published in recent issues of Regions (e.g. Bailey, 2011). The purpose is to take stock of policy developments underway by means of a post-regional sub-national review in order to outline the future development trajectory of Local Enterprise Partnerships

Written evidence to the House of Commons Business and Skills Committee (ed) Local enterprise partnerships and the Regional Growth Fund

The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee announced an inquiry looking into the Local Enterprise Partnerships and the Regional Growth Fund. In particular, the Committee examined how the proposed new structures would work, alongside issues such as distribution of funding, value for money, accountability, timing, transitional arrangements and required legislation. A Report on the Local Enterprise Partnerships was published on 26 April 2013

Metropolitan and Regional Economic Development: Competing and Contested Local Government Roles in Australia in the 21st Century

Economic development is a priority of all levels of government; irrespective of country, constitution or system of governance. This is particularly the case in Australia, where federal, state and local tiers of government are undertaking activities intended to support economic growth. However, roles and responsibilities are not always clear, which reflects interorganisational, intergovernmental and intra-organisational conflict, contradictions, duplications and fissures. Traditionally the role of local government in the subnational economic development policy space has been rather limited, although their remit and engagement in this sphere has increased steadily since the 1980s. Even so, the role of councils in subnational economic development – and metropolitan and regional economic development in particular – remains ambiguous and contested. Derived from findings from a project funded by the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government investigating the role of local government in the organisation and promotion of economic development, this paper intends to make two contributions to the literature. First, it shows how the conceptual messiness of the notion of (metropolitan and regional) economic development can both enable and constrain local government practice. Secondly, a state-level policy vacuum is apparent, which is a source of frustration amongst local practitioners. A key policy implication is the need to open-up more space for dialogue between different tiers of government to help engender a shared understanding of economic development, including the roles of different actors

Competing through e-skills: Luxembourg and its second level digital divide

There is growing awareness amongst policy makers, scholars and practitioners that the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector plays an important role in a country's economy and welfare. The ICT sector relies on highly performing technical infrastructures but also needs skilled people who are able to understand its complexities and are fully capable of making the best use of its potential. In this article we present and discuss this tension for the case of Luxembourg, one of the smallest countries in the world whose economy is open and largely service driven. Although a lot of improvements have been made in recent years regarding its ICT infrastructure, Luxembourg performs poorly in international league tables with regards to e-skills or digital competences showing a tendency to a “second level digital divide” in terms of its ICT professionals. Drawing on a prior study which mapped Luxembourg's ICT ecosystem, we conducted qualitative interviews with human resources managers that allowed us to identify the need for relevant ICT professional skills. By applying an e-competences framework, we have identified six different families of ICT jobs that are most demanded in Luxembourg as well as their underlying competences. We then present several policy initiatives that could address the challenges faced by Luxembourg. By doing so we provide a contribution in order to better understand the issues related to e-skills and digital competences in a small country. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study of this kind looking specifically into the e-skills situation in Luxembour

Conflict and Contradictions of Multiple Hard Planning spaces

Spatial imaginaries feature prominently in contemporary metropolitan strategic planning strategies. In particular, many metropolitan planners have experimented with the use of functional economic corridors, typically although not exclusively based on soft or fuzzy boundaries. In the last 15 years, there have been four strategic planning strategies produced for metropolitan Sydney in 2005, 2010, 2014 and 2018. Whilst the first three experimented with soft functional economic corridors, the most recent strategy, a ‘metropolis of three cities’, which seeks to rebalance the spatial structure of the metropolitan region, witnesses the hardening of the Greater Parramatta and Olympic Peninsula functional economic corridor. The insertion of this new planning space alongside and cutting across existing statutory planning areas gives rise to new issues and opportunities. Drawing attention to the coexistence of multiple hard planning spaces, this research examines some ensuing conflicts and contradictions that are not always immediately apparent. Moreover, the paper considers the broader implications of multiple hard planning spaces in both local development and metropolitan strategic planning

Local economic strategy development under Regional Development Agencies and Local Enterprise Partnerships: applying the lens of the multiple streams framework

Following the decision to abolish the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) in England by the newly elected Coalition Government in 2010, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) were introduced to drive economic development at a local level. However, the limited Government prescription as to both the form and function of LEPs has contributed to a fundamental ambiguity as to their roles and ‘legitimate spheres’ of activity. In the context of this ambiguity, this paper uses the Multiple Streams Framework (Kingdon, 1995) to analyse the challenges faced by RDAs and LEPs in developing effective economic development strategies. The paper identifies the dimensions of strategic capability that LEPs must develop if they are to mature as effective agents of local economic development in England

The Production of Alternative Urban Spaces An International Dialogue

Alternative urban spaces across civic, private, and public spheres emerge in response to the great challenges that urban actors are currently confronted with. Labour markets are changing rapidly, the availability of affordable housing is under intensifying pressure, and public spaces have become battlegrounds of urban politics. This edited collection brings together contributors in order to spark an international dialogue about the production of alternative urban spaces through a threefold exploration of alternative spaces of work, dwelling, and public life. Seeking out and examining existing alternative urban spaces, the authors identify the elements that provide opportunities to create radically different futures for the world's urban spaces. This volume is the culmination of an international search for alternative practices to dominant modes of capitalist urbanisation, bringing together interdisciplinary, empirically grounded chapters from hot spots in disparate cities around the world. Offering a multidisciplinary perspective, The Production of Alternative Urban Spaces will be of great interest to academics working across the fields of urban sociology, human geography, anthropology, political science, and urban planning. It will also be indispensable to any postgraduate students engaged in urban and regional studies

Is the Armington Elasticity Really Constant across Importers?

This paper shows that the Armington elasticity, which refers to both the elasticity of substitution across goods and the price elasticity of demand under the assumption of a large number of varieties, systematically changes from one importer country to another in an international trade context. Then a natural question to ask is "What determines the Armington elasticity?" The answer comes from the distinction between the elasticity of demand with respect to the destination price (i.e., the Armington elasticity) and the elasticity of demand with respect to the source price. Under additive trade costs, it is shown that the elasticity of demand with respect to the destination price is equal to the sum of the elasticity of demand with respect to the source price and the elasticity of demand with respect to the trade costs. The empirical results using the United States export data at the state level support this relation; hence, it is more likely to have a constant elasticity of demand with respect to the source price rather than a constant Armington elasticity under additive trade costs. In terms of policy implications, the constant Armington elasticity undervalues the effects of a policy change around 3 or 4 times compared to the importer-specific Armington elasticities

Networks and regional economic growth: a spatial analysis of knowledge ties

In recent years, increased attention has been given to role of inter-organisational knowledge networks in promoting regional economic growth. Nevertheless, the empirical evidence base concerning the extent to which inter-organisational knowledge networks influence regional growth is at best patchy. This paper utilises a panel data regression approach to undertake an empirical analysis of economic growth across regions of the UK. Drawing on the concept of network capital, significant differences in the stocks of network capital and flows of knowledge within and across regions are found, which are significantly associated with regional rates of economic growth. The analysis finds that both inter- and intra-regional networks shape regional growth processes, highlighting the role of both embedded localised linkages and the importance of accessing more geographically distant knowledge. The study adds weight to the suggestion that one of the most interesting implications of endogenous growth theory relates to the impact of the spatial organisation of regions on flows of knowledge. It is concluded that the adoption of a relational approach to understanding differing economic geographies indicates that network systems are a key component of the regional development mix