Richard Meegan

Industrial Restructuring versus the Cities

The paper argues that changes in the national economy are important in an explanation of inner city job changes and focuses upon structural reorganisation in the electrical, electronics and aerospace equipment sectors. In the survey firms, these sectors lost over 36,000 jobs in the study period, most of them in London, Manchester, Merseyside, and Birmingham. The elimination of excess capacity and the need to cut costs are identified as the most important restructuring process. Most of the job losses are caused by closures or contractions with about one quarter due to contraction with relocation and about 10 per cent due to movement from the cities without contraction.

Politics and Method: Contrasting Studies in Industrial Geography

1. Introduction: The debate Doreen Massey and Richard Meegan 2. Recession and restructuring in the North-West region, 1974-82: the implications of recent events Peter Lloyd and John Shutt 3.An approach to the analysis of redundancies in the UK (post- 1976): some methodological problems and policy implications Alan Townsend and Francis Peck 4.Ideology and methods in industrial location research Stephen Fothergill and Graham Gudgin 5.Profits and job loss Doreen Massey and Richard Meegan 6. A modern industry in a declining region: Links between method, theory and policy Andrew Sayer and Kevin Morgan 7. Doing research Doreen Massey and Richard Meegan

City Size and Economic Performance: Is Bigger Better, Small More Beautiful or Middling Marvellous?

Abstract This article discusses the contribution that second-tier cities can and do make to the economic performance of national economies across Europe. It reviews the competing theories about size, investment and economic performance. It presents a range of evidence about the performance of over 150 European capital and second-tier cities in 31 countries. It identifies some key policy messages for local national and European policy-makers. It presents evidence that decentralizing responsibilities, powers and resources, spreading investment and encouraging high performance in a range of cities rather than concentrating on the capital city produces national benefits. It argues that in a period of austerity national governments should resist pressures to concentrate investment in capital cities and invest more in second-tier cities when there is evidence that: (i) the gap with capitals is large and growing (ii) the business infrastructure of second-tier cities is weak because of national underinvestment and (iii) there is clear evidence about the negative externalities of capital city growth. It argues that the issues have slipped down the European Commissions agenda and it should do more to ensure its strategies help realize the economic potential of second-tier cities in future.

Recession, Austerity and the ‘Great Risk Shift’: Local Government and Household Impacts and Responses in Bristol and Liverpool

Abstract A key feature of the rise of neoliberal politics and policy has been the progressive shift of risk from corporations and national states to the local government, individuals and households. In this article, we argue that, in the UK, ‘great risk shift’ has not only been intensified by recession and austerity but has also been marked by the unevenness of the redistribution of risk and insecurity across scales and places, and between different types of household. In order to capture the differentiated nature of experiences and impacts of recession, risk and insecurity, this article first considers the spatial and temporal dynamics of recession and the great risk shift. It then goes on to localise and embed these dynamics within the city regions and local authorities of Bristol and Liverpool, drawing on a quantitative survey of 1,013 households, across a range of different household types. The survey was segmented geographically and by ten different household types using Ipsos-MORI’s (ACORN) classification of residential neighbourhoods. Whilst the evolving crisis and subsequent austerity measure have been a ‘moving target’ for cities, the local government and households, the household survey was undertaken in the two city regions in the winter of 2011 and explored experiences and impacts since 2008. It will seek to demonstrate the nature, impact and ‘lived experience’ of the ‘risk shift’ during this period and consider the ongoing and broader implications for households, and national and local policymakers.

The uneven impact of austerity on the voluntary and community sector: A tale of two cities

There has been much debate about the impact of recession and austerity on the voluntary and community sector over recent years. Using secondary data from the 2008 National Survey of Third Sector Organisations, Clifford et al. (2013), writing in this journal, have argued that voluntary sector organisations located in more deprived local authorities are likely to suffer most due to the combined effect of cuts in government funding in these areas and their greater dependency on statutory funding. This paper develops this argument by exploring the sector’s changing relationship with the state through an empirical analysis of the differential impact of recession and austerity on voluntary and community organisations involved in public service delivery in the two English core cities of Bristol and Liverpool. This paper highlights how the scale and unevenness of public spending cuts, the levels of voluntary sector dependency on statutory funding and the rising demands for the sector’s services in a period of recession and austerity are being experienced locally. It portrays a sector whose resilience is being severely tested and one that is being forced rapidly to restructure and reposition itself in an increasingly challenging funding environment.

Economic place making: policy messages for European cities

The global recession, Eurozone crisis and austerity programmes have had a huge impact upon the European economy and present even greater future threats. They have sharpened debates about policies for recovery and the role that different territories can play in this. In this context in particular they have encouraged a debate about the economic contribution of capital and non-capital cities and whether countries perform better if they concentrate their investment in their capitals or spread investment across a wider set of cities. Drawing on the findings of a recently completed study of European second-tier cities and a review of the academic and policy literature on local and regional economic development, the paper argues the case for a ‘place-based’ approach to support second-tier cities across Europe. The key policy messages of this approach for policy-makers at national and European levels are highlighted.

Spatial Divisions of Labour in Britain

Both the regional geography of the UK and the way in which we analyse it have been undergoing profound changes over the last two decades. In many ways the two things have been linked. Changes in the geography of employment posed questions which our old theories of industrial location and of regional inequality were quite incapable of answering. In this chapter, therefore, we are going to explore both sets of changes, albeit very briefly, and use an account of changes in Britain’s industrial geography to highlight some of the ways in which analysis itself has been transformed. We begin, however, by enumerating some of the most important ways in which the analysis of industrial geography and of regional employment patterns have been developing.

The uneven impact of recession on the voluntary and community sectors

There has been much debate about the impact of recession and austerity on the voluntary and community sector over recent years. Using secondary data from the 2008 National Survey of Third Sector Organisations, Clifford et al. (2013), writing in this journal, have argued that voluntary sector organisations located in more deprived local authorities are likely to suffer most due to the combined effect of cuts in government funding in these areas and their greater dependency on statutory funding. This paper develops this argument by exploring the sector’s changing relationship with the state through an empirical analysis of the differential impact of recession and austerity on voluntary and community organisations involved in public service delivery in the two English core cities of Bristol and Liverpool. This paper highlights how the scale and unevenness of public spending cuts, the levels of voluntary sector dependency on statutory funding and the rising demands for the sector’s services in a period of recession and austerity are being experienced locally. It portrays a sector whose resilience is being severely tested and one that is being forced rapidly to restructure and reposition itself in an increasingly challenging funding environment.

The uneven impact of recession on the voluntary and community sectors: Bristol and Liverpool

There has been much debate about the impact of recession and austerity on the voluntary and community sector over recent years. Using secondary data from the 2008 National Survey of Third Sector Organisations, Clifford et al. (2013), writing in this journal, have argued that voluntary sector organisations located in more deprived local authorities are likely to suffer most due to the combined effect of cuts in government funding in these areas and their greater dependency on statutory funding. This paper develops this argument by exploring the sector’s changing relationship with the state through an empirical analysis of the differential impact of recession and austerity on voluntary and community organisations involved in public service delivery in the two English core cities of Bristol and Liverpool. This paper highlights how the scale and unevenness of public spending cuts, the levels of voluntary sector dependency on statutory funding and the rising demands for the sector’s services in a period of recession and austerity are being experienced locally. It portrays a sector whose resilience is being severely tested and one that is being forced rapidly to restructure and reposition itself in an increasingly challenging funding environment.