Perspectives on the city‐regionParr, John
doi: 10.1080/00343400500151798pmid: N/A
Parr J. B. (2005) Perspectives on the city‐region, Regional Studies 39 , 555–566. The significance of the city‐region as a key feature of the space economy of a nation has been acknowledged for some time. Recently, however, there has been a spate of interest in the city‐region, and the reasons for this are varied. The form of a typical city‐region is discussed, with consideration given to its zonal structure and the accompanying inter‐zonal interaction. Such interaction, which occurs with respect to trade, commuting, capital movements, etc., does not imply that the city‐region represents a closed economy. The long‐term evolution of the city‐region is outlined, and a pattern of concentration followed by deconcentration is identified. Certain technical issues relating to the form of the city‐region are then examined. Finally, there is a brief review of the different ways in which the city‐region has been defined in the UK over recent years.
Diversification, specialization, convergence and divergence of sectoral employment structures in the British urban system, 1991–2001O'Donoghue, Dan; Townshend, Ivan
doi: 10.1080/00343400500151830pmid: N/A
O'Donoghue D. and Townshend I. J. (2005) Diversification, specialization, convergence and divergence of sectoral employment structures in the British urban system, 1991–2001, Regional Studies 39 , 585–601. This paper examines the changing employment structure of 150 travel‐to‐work areas (TTWAs) in Britain from 1991 to 2001. Using data from the Annual Employment Survey and the Annual Business Inquiry, 20 sectors of economic activity are defined and investigated. The analysis clearly identifies the continued shift away from primary and manufacturing employment as increasingly more people are employed in the so‐called service‐based and informational economy. Clear spatial patterns emerge associated with employment change across sectors and these are also explored. Given the changing pattern of employment and the spatial characteristics of each sector, new patterns of specialization and diversification are expected to emerge. The analysis identifies these patterns and places their explanation into the context of changing technology and skills. It becomes clear that at an urban system level there is a weak convergent trend across urban system. However, when the largest places are examined separately, it is apparent that the largest urban areas in Britain appear to have employment structures that are divergent from the rest of the urban system. This highlights the changing roles played by larger cities in Britain and has obvious implications for local labour markets and policy in those places.
Public capital and total factor productivity: New evidence from the Italian regions, 1970–98Destefanis, Sergio; Sena, Vania
doi: 10.1080/00343400500151863pmid: N/A
Destefanis S. and Sena V. (2005) Public capital and total factor productivity: new evidence from the Italian regions, 1970–98, Regional Studies 39 , 603–618. This paper analyses the relationship between industrial total factor productivity and public capital across the 20 Italian administrative regions. It adds upon the existing literature in a number of ways: it analyses a longer period (1970–98); it allows for the role of human capital accumulation; it tests for the existence of a long‐run relationship between total factor productivity and public capital (through previously suggested panel techniques) and for weak exogeneity of public capital; and it assesses the significance of public capital within a non‐parametric set‐up based on the Free Disposal Hull. The results confirm that public capital has a significant impact on the evolution of total factor productivity, particularly in the Southern regions. This impact is mainly ascribed to the core infrastructures (road and airports, harbours, railroads, water and electricity, telecommunications). Also, core infrastructures are weakly exogenous.
An examination of regional interaction and super‐regions in Britain: An error correction model approachGray, David
doi: 10.1080/00343400500151889pmid: N/A
Gray D. (2005) An examination of regional interaction and super‐regions in Britain: an error correction model approach, Regional Studies 39 , 619–632. This paper examines spill‐over effects among regions. Estimating error correction models of British rates of unemployment and conducting Granger‐causality tests, it is found that, on a short‐run basis, the West Midlands is a leading territory within a closely knit group of surrounding regions. The paper draws a distinction between a core and a leading region, suggesting the core region, the South East, is a follower, responding to, and magnifying, economic fluctuations. The policy implications are that current regional delineations may not be consistent with the demands of economic coherence at the national level and so is not optimal for the delivery of decentralized spatial economic policy. Indeed, as economic engineering in the high unemployment periphery has consequences for more prosperous areas, it may be better not to allow local administrators too much autonomy as the benefits of a better economic focus may be out‐weighed by destabilizing tendencies that decentralization may impose on the whole system. This problem has consequences for, and may be compounded by, policy initiatives at the European level.
Determinants of subcontracting and regional development: An empirical study on Turkish textile and engineering industriesTaymaz, Erol; Kiliçaslan, Yilmaz
doi: 10.1080/00343400500151913pmid: N/A
Taymaz E. and Kiliçaslan Y. (2005) Determinants of subcontracting and regional development: an empirical study on Turkish textile and engineering industries, Regional Studies 39 , 633–645. Recent studies on small‐ and medium‐sized establishments emphasize the importance of networking and regional clusters for (regional) industrial development. This study is focused on an important form of cooperation between firms: the subcontracting relationship. The aim is to identify the determinants of subcontracting in Turkish textile and engineering industries and to derive policy implications from our empirical analysis. Subcontract offering and subcontract receiving models are estimated for both industries by using panel data on all establishments employing ten or more workers between 1993 and 2000. The findings show that a short‐term/unequal relationship exists between clients and subcontractors in the textile industry, whereas subcontracting relationships in the engineering industry are established between ‘similar’, relatively advanced firms with complementary assets and technologies. Moreover, subcontracting flourishes in regions densely populated by firms.
Critical Surveys Edited by Stephen Roper Understanding regional inequalities in small countriesFelsenstein, Daniel; Portnov, Boris
doi: 10.1080/00343400500151921pmid: N/A
Felsenstein D. and Portnov B. A. (2005) Understanding regional inequalities in small countries, Regional Studies 39 , 647–658. This paper revisits the commonly held view that small countries do not exhibit significant regional disparities. The issue is framed as one in which the attributes of small size (land area, population and the magnitude of the economy) are mediated by a series of spatial and non‐spatial factors such as distance, density, factor mobility, natural resources, land supply, social cohesion and governance structure. Given the existence of these mediators, the magnitude of regional disparities in small countries is not as surprising as it may seem at first glance.
A new regional policy for BritainGill, Stephen
FOTHER
doi: 10.1080/00343400500151939pmid: N/A
Fothergill S. (2005) A new regional policy for Britain, Regional Studies 39 , 659–667. Britain's Labour Government is setting new directions for UK regional policy and proposing radical changes in European Union regional policy as well. This paper provides a critical review of the three UK government reports that underpin the new approach. It argues that the new approach takes insufficient account of accumulated knowledge or of the long history of UK regional policy. The new approach also prioritizes the devolution of decision‐making over positive discrimination from the centre in favour of less prosperous areas. The paper concludes that the three reports are taking UK regional policy into uncharted territory.