The intersection of productivity and governance capacity in spatial inequality

The case of England’s devolution periphery

Bibliographic Data

ID13041586
AuthorsJack Newman (0000-0003-3541-7546, University of Bristol, corresponding author), Charlotte Hoole (0000-0002-6987-7797, University of Birmingham)
Year2024
Volume19
Issue4
Pages555-582
Publication date2024-08-05
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueContemporary Social Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2158-2041 • E-ISSN: 2158-205X
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/21582041.2024.2435440
OpenAlexW4404946875
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited52

Effective local and regional governance is important for tackling economic inequality between regions. However, a common problem is that the effectiveness of governance institutions also has an unequal spatial distribution. The relationship between regional distributions of productive and governance capacity is therefore crucial for a state’s ability to revitalise lagging regions. In this paper, we consider England’s ongoing attempt to address spatial inequality through asymmetric decentralisation. Applying a projected geography of England’s emerging devolution settlement,we identify a ‘devolution periphery’, located primarily in the east and west, which is lagging in both productive capacity and governance capacity. This contrasts with a governance core in the north and a productive core in the south, with Greater London an outlier excelling in both. To interpret these findings, we assess spatial inequality and the history of spatial rebalancing in France, Germany, and Italy, identifying key risks and success factors. Given that the UK fails on each of these, and given the compounding effects of weak productive capacity and weak governance capacity, we predict that England’s ‘devolution periphery’ is likely to fall further behind in the coming years. We conclude by drawing out four paradoxes facing policymakers when attempting to tackle spatial inequality

Archaeology · Cartography · Corporate governance · Development economics · Devolution (biology · Economic geography · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Inequality · Intersection (aeronautics · Political science · Productivity · Regional science · Spatial inequality · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Regional Development and Policy

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