Estimates of the Capital Stock of Welsh Manufacturing, 1949–70

The analysis of the economic development of the regions of the United Kingdom has always been handicapped by the almost complete unavailability of statistics of regional capital stock. Although the theoretical validity of the empirical measures that are available, chiefly at the national level, may be severely criticised, the estimates continue to be extensively employed for purposes such as economic forecasting, examining differences and trends in productivity and technical progress and evaluating the extent of economies of scale. In the absence of stock figures, an evaluation of the performance of regional economies has to rely almost exclusively on a single input, labour and, as a result, many existing as well as potentially new theories of regional development cannot be adequately tested. Moreover, without estimates of the stock of capital it is impossible to assess fully the contribution which is made by the government through its policy of subsidising investment, to the build-up of the capital stock of manufacturing industry and the efficiency with which this stock is employed. Any light that might be shed on this and other issues would obviously be beneficial in appraising the effectiveness or otherwise of current regional policy and hence would have direct relevance for the formulation of future government action.