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‘Institutional Thickness’: Local Governance and Economic Development in Birmingham, England

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  • ANDREW COULSON
  • CATERINA FERRARIO

Abstract

This article uses the concept of institutional thickness to describe key features of the local governance of economic development. For this purpose, a methodology for the empirical assessment of institutional thickness is developed and applied to the case of Birmingham, England. The results from this empirical analysis are threefold. First, they make it possible to draw some conclusions on the role that local governments can play to promote local economic development. Second, they suggest that institutional thickness is a useful organizing concept for analyses of the local governance of economic development. Finally, they demonstrate the value of a verifiable and replicable methodology for the detection and measurement of local institutional conditions and of governance arrangements. Résumé Cet article s'appuie sur le concept d'épaisseur institutionnelle pour décrire les aspects essentiels de la gouvernance locale en matière de développement économique. Pour ce faire, on a développé une méthodologie afin d'évaluer empiriquement l'épaisseur institutionnelle et de l'appliquer au cas britannique de Birmingham. Les résultats de cette analyse empirique sont de trois ordres: d'abord, ils permettent de tirer des conclusions sur le rôle potentiel des gouvernements locaux dans la promotion du développement économique local; ensuite, ils suggèrent que l'épaisseur institutionnelle constitue un concept d'organisation utile pour analyser la gouvernance locale du développement économique. Pour finir, ils démontrent la valeur d'une méthodologie vérifiable et reproductible si l'on veut repérer et mesurer les situations institutionnelles locales et les dispositifs de gouvernance.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew Coulson & Caterina Ferrario, 2007. "‘Institutional Thickness’: Local Governance and Economic Development in Birmingham, England," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 591-615, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ijurrs:v:31:y:2007:i:3:p:591-615
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2427.2007.00739.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Crouch, Colin & Le Gales, Patrick & Trigilia, Carlo & Voelzkow, Helmut, 2004. "Changing Governance of Local Economies: Responses of European Local Production Systems," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199259403.
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    Cited by:

    1. Elena Zukauskaite & Michaela Trippl & Monica Plechero, 2017. "Institutional Thickness Revisited," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 93(4), pages 325-345, August.
    2. Lorenzo Mizzau, 2014. "Constructing value for culture: The evolution of local cultural industriesÕ policies and governance in North-East Italy," Working Papers 02, Department of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia.
    3. Cristina Chaminade & Monica Plechero, 2015. "Do Regions Make a Difference? Regional Innovation Systems and Global Innovation Networks in the ICT Industry," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(2), pages 215-237, February.
    4. Natalia Restrepo & Salvador Anton Clavé, 2019. "Institutional Thickness and Regional Tourism Development: Lessons from Antioquia, Colombia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-25, May.
    5. Enrique Claver-Cortés & Bartolomé Marco-Lajara & Pedro Seva-Larrosa & Lorena Ruiz-Fernández & Eduardo Sánchez-García, 2020. "Explanatory Factors of Entrepreneurship in Food and Beverage Clusters in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-22, July.
    6. Arie Stoffelen & Dominique Vanneste, 2017. "Tourism and cross-border regional development: insights in European contexts," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(6), pages 1013-1033, June.
    7. Chaminade, Cristina & Plechero, Monica, 2012. "Do regions make a difference? Exploring the role of different regional innovation systems in global innovation networks in the ICT industry," Papers in Innovation Studies 2012/2, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    8. Giovanni Pino & M Irene Prete & Gianluigi Guido, 2014. "The dominant rationality of local stakeholder networks: The case of a southern Italian province," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 29(6-7), pages 687-707, September.
    9. Charles Conteh, 2013. "Changing Trends in Regional Economic Development Policy Governance: The Case of Northern Ontario, Canada," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(4), pages 1419-1437, July.
    10. Gianluigi Guido & Christian Rizzo & M. Irene Prete & Annamaria Cazzar? & Giovanni Pino, 2016. "Network analysis of local territorial systems in the Salento region, Italy," RIVISTA DI STUDI SULLA SOSTENIBILITA', FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(1), pages 83-101.

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