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Are big cities really the motor of UK regional economic growth?

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  • Steve Fothergill
  • Donald Houston

Abstract

In the UK, the increasingly dominant assumption is that the big cities are the motor of regional economic growth. This city-centric view stands in marked contrast to the pre-2000 assumption that Britain’s largest cities were actually the main focus of declining employment and population. Drawing on a range of theoretical ideas and evidence, this article questions the view that the big cities are the key drivers of UK regional growth. It recognises that there have been important changes in trends, notably in London, but argues that the geography of recent economic trends in the UK is largely one of regional divergence. There is scant evidence that the big provincial cities perform better than other places—in fact, rather the opposite. The relationship between the big cities and their hinterlands is one of interdependence. The article also argues that the performance of UK cities is deeply intertwined with the structure of UK economic growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Steve Fothergill & Donald Houston, 2016. "Are big cities really the motor of UK regional economic growth?," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 9(2), pages 319-334.
  • Handle: RePEc:oup:cjrecs:v:9:y:2016:i:2:p:319-334.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/cjres/rsw009
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Carlino, Gerald A. & Chatterjee, Satyajit & Hunt, Robert M., 2007. "Urban density and the rate of invention," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 389-419, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Marc Brunetto & Nadine Levratto, 2017. "Analysis of the job creation process in metropolitan areas: A spatial perspective," Working Papers hal-04141632, HAL.
    2. Marc Brunetto & Nadine Levratto, 2017. "Analysis of the job creation process in metropolitan areas: A spatial perspective," EconomiX Working Papers 2017-36, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    3. Jacob Salder & John Bryson & Julian Clark, 2024. "The decoupling effect and shifting assemblages of English regionalism: Economic governance, politics and firm-state relations," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 42(3), pages 437-457, May.
    4. Robert Calvert Jump & Adam Scavette, 2022. "The Labor Market Effects of Place-Based Policies: Evidence from England’s Neighbourhood Renewal Fund," Working Paper 22-02, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
    5. Camacho, Christine & Webb, Roger T. & Bower, Peter & Munford, Luke, 2024. "Risk factors for deaths of despair in England: An ecological study of local authority mortality data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 342(C).

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