Stephen Syrett

Generating Social Capital? The Social Economy and Local Economic Development

In seeking to understand and promote long-term and inclusive models of local economic development the notion of social capital appears potentially important. In the development of the social economy, an aspect of the local economy which has attracted an increased theoretical and policy focus in recent years, the relationship with social capital appears particularly significant.Yet despite the apparent salience of notions of social capital, there remains a lack of understanding of the nature and extent of existing social capital resources and the precise manner in which these are drawn upon in the development of the social economy to generate further social capital within the local development process. In part this is a result of the conceptual confusion surrounding the notion of social capital, but it also reflects a lack of empirical research. This article explores the notion of social capital and the manner in which it is produced, reproduced and used locally within the social economy as part of the local economic development process. Findings are presented from a transnational European research project which examined the development of social enterprises and the social economy within different localities in order to seek to better understand their interrelationships with the local production and use of social capital.These findings emphasize the importance of contextualization in the study of local social capital and the importance of interpretative approaches for area-based policy development.

Out of the shadows? Formalisation approaches to informal economic activity

Recent years have witnessed a shift in the policy debate concerning informal economic activity in the advanced industrial economies away from an emphasis only on deterrence towards the possibilities for encouraging transition into the formal economy. Such formalisation policies have a considerable history in the developing world but to date these have only weakly informed this policy debate. This article reviews the dominant conceptualisations and policy approaches towards the informal economy as these have evolved in the developing world and critically evaluates how these provide a context for the development of new policy approaches in the developed world.

Population superdiversity and new migrant enterprise: The case of London

This article aims to contribute towards an improved empirical and conceptual understanding of the recent dramatic growth in migrant enterprises within London. Taking as its starting point the emergence of increasingly diverse populations within many urban and regional contexts, the article draws upon the concept of ‘superdiversity’ to develop a contextual analysis of the development of new migrant enterprise. In the absence of existing data, the research method combines secondary materials with primary observational and interview data in relation to six new arrival communities. The results provide a description of the changing context for migrant business within London, mapping the emergence of new forms and geographies of enterprise. The analysis is developed through an examination of processes of business start up and growth, and integration into institutional and regulatory frameworks, to demonstrate how elements of ethnicity, migratory status and a range of other variables interplay with wider economic and political contexts to shape diverse new migrant entrepreneurial activities. The article concludes by considering the challenges that this new phase of diverse migrant entrepreneurship presents to existing theoretical conceptualisations of ethnic minority business and the nature of appropriate policy responses.

Urban governance and economic development in the diverse city

This paper examines the discourses and practices surrounding urban governance and cultural diversity in relation to issues of economic development and labour market inclusion. The paper sets out the conceptual and political importance of an approach to the governance of cultural diversity in relation to the urban economy that is embedded within specific historic-spatial settings, and draws together wider institutional contexts with the specificities of urban spaces and places. Through examination of recent changes in the economic governance of London, a global city characterized by a rapidly growing and highly diverse population, the paper demonstrates the conflicts and contradictory tendencies evident in contemporary governance discourses and practice towards diverse populations. The analysis presented demonstrates how governance in London has developed in face of the tensions that exist between the spatially rooted costs and benefits of diversity within the urban economic development process, and the contradictions apparent within a discourse that seeks to combine notions of community cohesion and economic inclusion with neoliberal economic practice and widening levels of inequality.

Realising the Diversity Dividend: Population Diversity and Urban Economic Development

This paper critically examines the increasing use of population diversity as a source of competitive advantage and distinctiveness within policies promoting urban economic development. Rising levels of population diversity are a characteristic feature of many urban areas and this has led to increased policy attempts to realise a so-called ‘diversity dividend’. Yet much of this policy thinking demonstrates a restricted understanding of the nature of the relationships between diverse populations and urban economic change. Through a comprehensive review of existing theoretical and policy practice in relation to population diversity, this paper identifies an often narrow focus upon higher skilled and higher income populations and their needs within much urban economic policy thinking. It is argued that a more critical and wide-ranging approach to the complex relationship between population diversity and city development is required if a more just form of urban economic development is to be achieved.

The Politics of Partnership The Role of Social Partners in Local Economic Development in Portugal

In the production of a dominant ideology for local economic policy, concepts of partnership currently play a key role. However, conceptualizations of partnership which inform the policy process are often weakened by a failure to recognize the unequal power relations between social partners, as well as by implicit assumptions of the existence of a range of partners available to be drawn into the local development process. This article explores current dominant notions of partnership and forms of economic governance and the role of international organizations in promoting particular ideologies of partnership. Through analysis of recent experiences in Portugal, this article examines how in practice the development of partnerships has been heavily constrained by the underdeveloped nature of local social partners, plus the unequal power relations between local and central state organizations and other locally based institutions. It is argued that policies promoting partnership must recognize these inequalities between partners and show awareness of the need to build up local institutional capacities for promoting economic development. Such policies are required in order to construct a politics of partnership embedded in democratic and participative processes of local development and to avoid the domination of the local development process by restricted local and national interests.

Regional Development Agencies in Portugal: Recent Development and Future Challenges

This article considers the result of a recently completed programme to create Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) within Portugal. The first part of the article examines the forces leading to the creation of RDAs in Portugal and the particularities of the process employed. The second part turns to consider the considerable challenges that these fledgling RDAs now face if they are to develop a strategic role promoting regional economic development within Portugal.

Making the Links: Economic Deprivation, Neighbourhood Renewal and Scales of Governance

North D. and Syrett S. Making the links: economic deprivation, neighbourhood renewel and scales of governance, Regional Studies. A policy focus of the New Labour Government in the UK has been upon attempts to tackle problems of concentrations of deprivation at the neighbourhood scale. This paper presents evidence from five local authority districts to consider how issues of scale matter in seeking to address such problems and the institutional arrangements and policies currently in place to improve their economic prospects. The results demonstrate that for economic deprivation to be tackled more effectively requires both a clearer specification of the rationale for the kind of intervention needed and improved integration and coordination of strategies and actions across spatial scales. North D. et Syrett S. Joindre les ‘trois’ bouts: les privations économiques, la rénovation des quartiers et les niveaux de gouvernance, Regional Studies 41, 1–16. Au Royaume-Uni, le gouvernement New Labour a mis laccent sur des actions destinées à répondre aux problèmes de la concentration des privations au niveau du quartier. Cet article cherche à fournir des preuves provenant de cinq circonscriptions administratives locales afin de considérer limportance de la notion de niveau pour aborder de tels problèmes, et les démarches et les politiques institutionnelles en vigueur pour améliorer leurs perspectives économiques. Les résultats montrent que la maîtrise efficace des privations économiques nécessite à la fois une articulation plus claire de la raison dêtre du type dintervention nécessaire et une intégration et une coordination améliorées des stratégies et des actions à tous les niveaux géographiques. Quartiers en déclinu2003Politique de quartieru2003Economies localesu2003Angleterreu2003Gouvernance économique aux niveaux régional et infra-régional North D. und Syrett S. Herstellen der Verknüpfungen: wirtschaftliche Benachteiligung, Sanierung von Wohngebieten und Maßstäbe der Regierungsarbeit, Regional Studies 41, 1–16. Einer der politischen Schwerpunkte der Labour-Regierung Großbritanniens war der Versuch, die Probleme der Konzentration sozialer Benachteiligung auf der Ebene der Wohngegenden zu lösen. In diesem Aufsatz werden Belege von fünf Kommunen vorgestellt, um zu untersuchen, welche Rolle Fragen des Maßstabs bei der Lösung solcher Probleme spielen und welche institutionellen Vorkehrungen und Politiken derzeit zur Verbesserung der wirtschaftlichen Chancen dieser Kommunen vorhanden sind. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass für eine effizientere Bekämpfung wirtschaftlicher Benachteiligung eine klarere Spezifikation der Gründe für die Art der benötigten Intervention sowie eine verbesserte Integration und Koordination der Strategien und Maßnahmen für die verschiedenen räumlichen Maßstäbe erforderlich sind. Benachteiligte Wohngegendenu2003Politik für Wohngegendenu2003Lokalwirtschaftenu2003Englandu2003Regionale/subregionale wirtschaftliche Regierungsarbeit North D. y Syrett S. Atando cabos: marginación económica, renovación en los barrios y escalas de gobernanza, Regional Studies 41, 1–16. El Gobierno laborista británico ha intentado solucionar con una política que la marginación se concentre en determinados barrios. En este artículo presentamos ejemplos de cinco comarcas locales para analizar la importancia de las cuestiones de escala en solucionar estos problemas y averiguar cuáles han sido los acuerdos institucionales y las políticas actualmente en práctica para mejorar las perspectivas económicas. Los resultados indican que para abordar con más eficacia las penurias económicas es necesaria una especificación más clara de las razones para este tipo de intervención y mejorar la integración y coordinación de las estrategias y medidas a todas las escalas espaciales. Barrios desfavorecidosu2003Política de vecindadu2003Economías localesu2003Inglaterrau2003Gobernanza económica regional/subregional

Local Power and Economic Policy: Local Authority Economic Initiatives in Portugal

SYRETT S. (1994) Local power and economic policy: local authority economic initiatives in Portugal, Reg. Studies 28, 53-67. Local authority economic policy has experienced significant development throughout most European countries since the early 1980s, reflecting important changes in local-central relations as well as processes of economic restructuring. In Portugal, local government has experienced an increase in financial and legal autonomy from the central state since the late 1970s. This paper examines how these recent changes have created a new involvement for Portuguese local government in promoting local economic initiatives. Drawing upon results from a questionnaire survey of local authorities and interviews with local authority Presidents, this paper describes the scale and type of local authority economic policy which has developed in central Portugal. By examining these actions within a framework of changing local-central state relations, this analysis points to the constraints and opportuniti...

Governing the global city: Economic challenges and London's new institutional arrangements

Abstract A principal justification for the introduction of the Mayor and GLA for London was that current governance arrangements were insufficient to meet the needs of sustaining and developing Londons economic role as a major global city. This paper examines the challenges created by Londons increased global integration and current economic growth to evaluate whether the changes in governance arrangements introduced from 2000 have produced any significant enhancement to Londons ability to govern processes of economic development. The paper demonstrates that whilst improvements in strategy, vision and leadership have been important, ultimately the weak governance structures currently in place play a relatively marginal role in influencing the wider economic development process and meeting the challenges to future economic growth posed by social inequality and cohesion in a diverse and growing population.