Regional Studies

Beatty, Christina; Fothergill, Stephen

doi: 10.1080/00343400500289804pmid: N/A

Beatty C. and Fothergill S. (2005) The diversion from ‘unemployment’ to ‘sickness’ across British regions and districts, Regional Studies 39 , 837–854. Around 2.7 million non‐employed adults of working age in the UK claim sickness‐related benefits, and the numbers have risen steeply over time. The very large variation in the numbers across districts and regions points strongly to extensive hidden unemployment, especially in older industrial areas affected by job losses. This paper builds on two previous papers by the same authors – one dealing with the theoretical framework and the other with a local case study – to present wholly new estimates of the scale of the diversion across all parts of the country. It also questions contemporary perceptions of the UK labour market and the validity of current approaches to re‐engaging sickness claimants with employment.

Robinson, Helen

doi: 10.1080/00343400500289820pmid: N/A

Robinson H. (2005) Regional evidence on the effect of the National Minimum Wage on the gender pay gap, Regional Studies 39 , 855–872. This paper provides evidence on employment rates and the extent of the change in the gender wage gap across regions around the introduction of the National Minimum Wage (NMW). The variation in the proportions of low‐paid workers across Britain provides a ‘quasi’ natural experiment with which to try and measure the effect of the introduction of the NMW. All things being equal, if women are over‐represented amongst the low paid, and the proportion of low‐paid workers varies across regions, one might expect to see the introduction of the NMW narrowing the overall gender pay gap by varying degrees across the country. Using difference‐in‐differences‐type estimation on Labour Force Survey data, it is concluded that there is variation in the limited narrowing of the overall gender pay gap across regions, consistent with regional differences in the incidence and magnitude of low pay.

Hussler, Caroline; Ronde, Patrick

doi: 10.1080/00343400500289846pmid: N/A

Hussler C. and Ronde P. (2005) What kind of individual education for which type of regional innovative competence? An exploration of data on French industries, Regional Studies 39 , 873–889. This paper tests the link between the educational structure and the industrial innovative potential of French regions. Its specificity lies, first, in using firms’ competences to innovate to depict (qualitatively) the innovative potential of regions; and, second, in analysing the respective influences of several types of training and knowledge bases. Regions with efficient universities host technologically complex industries with numerous innovative competences. Besides, the influence of other levels and types of education varies with the kind of industry and the type of competence at stake. Thus, regions have to run specific educational policies if they want to attract innovative partners.

Nivalainen, Satu

doi: 10.1080/00343400500289853pmid: N/A

Nivalainen S. (2005) Interregional migration and post‐move employment in two‐earner families: evidence from Finland, Regional Studies 39 , 891–907. This paper investigates the post‐move employment of men and women in Finnish two‐earner families, taking account of selection bias and heteroskedasticity. A unique data set consisting of actual couples is used. Heteroskedasticity does not seem to be a great problem, but the results demonstrate the importance of the selectivity correction: unobservable characteristics exist that both increase migrants' employment potential and make them more mobile. Migration itself generally exerts a negative effect, i.e. migrants have a lower tendency to be employed than stayers. However, average inspections may mask a wide variation. Extended analysis shows that migration in fact leaves the majority of husbands unaffected, and that some husbands actually benefit from moving. Instead, migration has a negative impact on wives in all cases. Hence, the results suggest that the husband's employment considerations are weighted more, and that wives are often the tied parties in family migration.

Shuttleworth, Ian; Lloyd, Chris

doi: 10.1080/00343400500289895pmid: N/A

Shuttleworth I. G. and Lloyd C. D. (2005) Analysing average travel‐to‐work distances in Northern Ireland using the 1991 Census of Population: the effects of locality, social composition, and religion, Regional Studies 39 , 909–921. Travel‐to‐work patterns have important implications for national and international debates about employability and the causes of unemployment. Therefore, using Northern Ireland as an example, this paper explores the factors that shape commuting flows using data from the Census of Population. An analytical framework is developed that explores the use of local regression for this type of socio‐economic application. The relative importance of locational and social compositional factors as influences on daily travel‐to‐work patterns is considered. The paper concludes by suggesting that general regression models may hide local variations in relationships and that locational factors, such as proximity to employment opportunities, can outweigh social characteristics as determinants of commuting.

Evans, D.; Kula, E.; Sezer, H.

doi: 10.1080/00343400500289937pmid: N/A

Evans D., Kula E. and Sezer H. (2005) Regional welfare weights for the UK: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Regional Studies 39 , 923–937. In relation to public spending and regional policy, the importance of distributional issues is stressed, and regional welfare weights are derived from an appropriate underlying social welfare function. Estimates of these weights are then provided for the four countries comprising the UK. Welfare weights now have a very high policy profile following the special emphasis placed by the UK Treasury, in its recently revised guidance on appraisal and evaluation in government, on the assessment of the distributional impacts of social projects and policies. From an empirical perspective, the critical component of each welfare weight measure is the elasticity of marginal utility of income ( e ). Alternative estimation approaches based on demand analysis and income tax data are used to determine e , and a preferred measure of 1.60 emerges. The resulting regional welfare weights are then compared with recent patterns of per‐capita regional public expenditure in the UK. The paper concludes by emphasizing the scope for further empirical work on welfare weights and regional policy in relation to both the UK and the European Union.

Sanz‐Menéndez, Luis; Cruz‐Castro, Laura

doi: 10.1080/00343400500289945pmid: N/A

Sanz‐Menéndez L. and Cruz‐Castro L. (2005) Explaining the science and technology policies of regional governments, Regional Studies 39 , There is a simultaneous trend for regionalization and decentralization in Europe, a trend that has also affected the science and technology policy domain, with an open debate on the functioning of the multilevel governance system. Regional authorities have become directly involved in the design and implementation of regional science and technology (S&T) policies. However, the interventions of sub‐national governments are much more diverse than the prevailing view about the convergence of regional policies towards innovation policies might imply. This paper describes science, technology and innovation policies adopted by five Spanish regional governments between the mid‐1980s and the beginning of the 21st century from a comparative perspective. The paper first describes the policy approaches (academic versus industrial) adopted by the regional authorities. Second, it analyses the explanatory factors in order to reach certain conclusions about the circumstances under which regional governments can implement policies of one or the other approach. Despite the influence of some structural factors, especially as regards initial political preferences, the analysis highlights the relevance of the mobilized interests when they are concentrated in the region, showing that changes in policy orientation are particularly difficult when those interests play a role in the administration of such policies. Preferences towards a policy reorientation are more likely to succeed with the aid of appropriate administrative arrangements, especially along with significant budget increases.

Hall, Ronald

doi: 10.1080/00343400500290018pmid: N/A

doi: 10.1080/00343400500290083pmid: N/A