--------------------------------------- New Issue of Local Economy -------------------------------------------------
How has the economy developed under the coalition government? Has economic growth become a dominant objective of planning policy? How do we evaluate local economic development activities in times of austerity? A key feature of the Coalition Government has been Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP), but what challenges have they faced and how productive have they been in supporting economic growth?
In the latest issue of SAGE journal Local Economy, the editors and authors explore these very topics and issues, providing an extended analysis on the impact that the actions of the coalition government has had on the development of our economy.
Authors contributing to the journal look at a range of topics with regard to economic development under the coalition: City Regions; City Deals; Contextual Benchmarking; Lessons from New Labour’s experiments; the political economy of growth strategies; Local Enterprise Partnerships; the role of Whitehall; Neighbourhood regeneration; Industrial Policy, including business support measures and the Business Bank, as well as a number of articles that serve to remind readers about the social justice objectives of economic development and regeneration initiatives.
In their introductory piece, editors Lee Pugalis and Gill Bentley explore the issue of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), asking us to examine whether, in their attempt to support economic growth, they are actually performing perfectly. Set up in 2011, LEPs and enterprise zones were created in place of the Regional Development Agencies, with their sole objective being to drive public sector growth and reduce administrative burdens. In light of each of the 39 LEPs reaching their second birthday, Pugalis and Bentley examine what advances they have made and how they may evolve over the next few years. Concluding that LEPs are the “latest intended policy fix in a complex lineage of adjourned agencies”, the authors allude to the “capricious nature of such fixes” and state that in order for LEPs to avoid the “sub-national economic development landscape […] of institutional corpses” LEPs may have to receive more “tangible responsibilities and resources over the coming years” with “more formal arrangements” being a prerequisite if they are to be “responsible for public monies”.
Issue details
Economic Development under the Coalition Government
Local Economy, first published on November 12, 2013.
28 (7-8)
The whole issue can be accessed for free at: http://lec.sagepub.com/content/current
|