Uneven economic development and its implications for policy: Lessons from the UK

Abstract

This paper examines the UK’s large and, by some measures, growing variation in economic performance across cities and regions and assesses how policymakers can and should respond. The traditional policy mix – including central government investments in local growth projects, transport and other infrastructure, and funding for business support and access to finance – has not been effective. Greater local control is needed to improve policy effectiveness and recent devolution deals and directly elected mayors are a step in this direction. Nonetheless, when devolving powers, it is important that policies that have wide scale impacts (such as transport and housing) are coordinated across local areas. London’s strong economic performance plays a large part in explaining widening disparities within the UK. Providing an effective counter-balance to London may require policy aimed at ‘rebalancing’ to be more spatially focused. Ultimately, policymakers should care about the effect of policies on people more than on places and thus efforts to rebalance an economy should be judged on the extent to which they improve opportunities for all, rather than whether they narrow the gap between particular places.