Understanding the differential effects on employment of a community wealth building programme in England
A difference-in-differences study
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11180394 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tanith C Rose (0000-0001-5338-0359, University of Liverpool), Konstantinos Daras (0000-0002-4573-4628, University of Liverpool), Mick Mckeown (0000-0003-3599-2153, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK), Tom Lloyd Goodwin (Centre for Local Economic Strategies, Manchester, UK), Tom Goodwin (0000-0002-4013-0809), John Manley (0000-0003-2548-8033, University of Lancashire), Julian Manley (University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK), Ben Barr (0000-0002-4208-9475, University of Liverpool) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 79 |
| Issue | 9 |
| Pages | 658-663 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0143-005X • E-ISSN: 1470-2738 |
| Publisher | BMJ (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1136/jech-2024-223499 |
| PMID | 40379468 |
| OpenAlex | W4410430047 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 15 |
BACKGROUND: People-centred initiatives to create and retain local wealth, such as Community Wealth Building (CWB), have potential to stimulate regional economic regeneration that addresses economic inequalities by increasing the economic inclusion of more disadvantaged groups. Preston, a relatively deprived city in England, has implemented a CWB programme that has been associated with improvements in local wages and well-being. We estimated the effect of Preston's CWB programme on employment and examined differential effects by disability status and other equality dimensions. METHODS: We conducted a difference-in-differences analysis combined with entropy balancing to estimate the effect of the introduction of the CWB programme in Preston on local employment rates, using individual-level data from the Annual Population Survey collected between 2011 and 2019. We performed subgroup analysis to investigate whether the effect on employment was modified by disability, ethnic group, sex or education level. RESULTS: We analysed survey responses from 95 476 individuals. The introduction of the CWB programme was associated with an increase in the employment rate of 4% (95% CI 2.4% to 5.7%) among people living in Preston, compared with what would have been expected in the absence of the programme. The effect on employment was greater among people with disabilities, minority ethnic groups, men and people with lower levels of education. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that CWB can have a positive impact on employment over a relatively short period of time, which disproportionately benefits people with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups. This evidence can be used to inform the development, implementation and evaluation of CWB strategies in other places. Preston's CWB programme may represent a strategy to achieve more equitable economic growth and reduce health inequalities
Demographic economics · Difference in differences · Differential (mechanical device) · Differential effects · Econometrics · Economics · Labour economics · Sociology · Engineering · Healthcare innovation and challenges · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Medicine · Urban Planning and Governance
The UK Regional-National Economic Problem
Designing Difference in Difference Studies
Methods for Evaluating Changes in Health Care Policy
The What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth
Income inequality and health
The Long Shadow of Job Loss
Level best? The levelling up agenda and UK regional inequality
Unlocking public procurement as a tool for place-based industrial strategy
Public procurement as a policy tool
Perceptions of regional inequality and the geography of discontent
Entropy Balancing for Causal Effects
| Highly cited | No |
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