Greening the environment: National and local economic issues

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Restructuring the automotive industry in the English West Midlands

This paper investigates the changes taking places in the automotive industry in the English West Midlands. For over a century this region has been the heartland of car production in the UK, but over recent decades the volume side of the trade has been in serious decline, leading to increasing dependence on the luxury side of the industry. The implications are that the supply side of the industry will be forced to move into new technologies if the auto cluster is to prosper in future. Finally, the paper looks at the attempts made by bodies such as Advantage West Midlands and the industry itself to effect change.     

Visualising the operating behaviour of SMEs in sector and cluster: Evidence from the West Midlands

Cluster policy in the UK, pursued by the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), has readily adopted a simplistic definition based upon industrial sectors and location quotients. Evidence drawn from a study of the operating behaviour of SMEs belonging to two traditional manufacturing industries within the West Midlands—automotive components and clothing—provides a critique of this approach. Whilst the automotive components industry has been designated part of a key, high priority cluster, the clothing industry has not. Using case studies from both industries, this paper shows firms both within and outside RDA cluster definitions display a remarkably similar range of behavioural characteristics. Yet, based on weakly defined cluster policy, one industry enjoys considerably more policy support than the other. The paper begins to question the logic of RDA cluster policy and to ask whether a more sophisticated and locally sympathetic manner of visualising clusters and business behaviour rather than an emphasis on employment numbers would have a greater impact for policy.     

Re-booting the local economy: Information and communication technologies in local economic strategy

Many local economic strategies today include reference to a communications infrastructure that involves electronic networks alongside that of roads and railways. Information and communication technologies (ICTs), often referred to as the “information superhighway” or informatics, are considered useful to stimulate local economic activity. This paper, based on a North East case study, suggests that the importance of ICTs to local economic strategy lies in the rationale of key local strategy makers, while the use of ICTs for local economic development means that the local governance of ICTs will become a salient feature in future economic development.     

National policies and local economic initiatives: Evaluating the effectiveness of UK coal and steel closure area re-industrialisation measures

With the collapse that took place in coal, steel and engineering, job creation subsidiaries of certain nationalised industries were set up such as British Coal (Enterprise) Ltd and British Steel Corporation (Industry) Ltd. What have they achieved and what lessons are to be learned?     

A tidal wave for change. The case of the automotive supply chain in the West Midlands

The focus of this paper concerns change in the automotive supply chain, industry responses, and policy and strategic implications. Automotive components suppliers are buffeted by global trends and forces, including rising quality standards, environmental issues, and product and process innovation. Although the higher ranks of the supply chain adapt to change continuously, new technologies on the horizon threaten to make many automotive components manufacturers obsolete within some three to ten years. The West Midlands region is particularly vulnerable given its high concentration of automotive suppliers. The potential for related diversification is limited and investment is needed in new manufacturing activities (rather than assembly or sales/distribution) related to environmental, alternative power and electronic technologies. This will position the UK's automotive supply base at the forefront of technological advance against strong and aggressive global players notably from the US, Germany and the Far East. Both the private and public sectors have a strategic and supporting role to play in ensuring that opportunities are maximised. The West Midlands case study has a broader currency for initiatives targeting diversification both in vehicles production and in other manufacturing sectors. Its significance is heightened by the increasing tendency for other sectors-such as food and drink production, and domestic appliances- to adopt automotive practices.     

全球化背景下的国家经济利益

全球化过程加剧了国家间的经济利益竞争 经济全球化在表象上,呈现为各国各地区经济结合成全球经济整体的"自然"的发展过程.然而,经济活动的这种"无国界"趋势并没有模糊淡化民族国家的利益界限,实质上却更加加剧了国家间经济利益的竞争,不同类型的国家之间以及同一类型国家之间利益争夺加剧,突出地表现为在世界市场上所占的份额和在国际分工协作中所处的地位.     

Integrating the economic and the social. Policy and institutional change in local economic strategy

Since the mid-1990s policy “integration” has become an increasingly salient theme within central government and local government policy-making. In this paper we report survey findings tracing the recent emergence of explicitly “integrated” local economic and social strategies, and the evolving position of ostensibly social themes in local economic strategies. These highlight some of the more important policy and institutional changes that have characterised local economic strategy in the post-Thatcher era. Subsequently, in the light of this initial data we outline a number of possible directions for further research.     

Rethinking the role of the service sector in local economic revitalisation

This article evaluates the role of the service sector in revitalising local economies. Using case study evidence from the Fens, the view that services are “parasitic” activities is refuted. Instead, services are shown to contribute positively to local economic rejuvenation not only as “basic” activities which bring income into local economies from outside but also, just as importantly, as locally-oriented activities which stop income from leaking out of the locality. The consequences of this reconceptualisation of services for the nature of local economic policy are addressed.     

Tourism and local economic development: The case of the Highlands Meander

Local economic development (LED) planning is of major policy importance in post-apartheid South Africa. Although issues surrounding LED have attracted considerable policy attention, one neglected theme has been the role of tourism as a lead sector for LED. The aim of this article is to examine the planning and workings of one tourism-led LED initiative in South Africa. The case study is that of the Highlands Meander in Mpumalanga province, where five towns are collaborating in their LED initiatives in order to promote the area's tourism products. A key finding is that this growing tourism initiative is currently not benefiting local black communities. Recommendations are offered for developing a pro-poor tourism initiative.