EUKN - United Kingdom - Economic performance of rural areas inside and outside of city-regions: final report to Defra

Economic performance of rural areas inside and outside of city-regions: final report to Defra

Introduction

The report presents the findings of a study, commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), carried out to examine the economic performance of rural areas inside and outside of city-regions.

Description

The relationship between city-regions, economic performance and Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets is discussed. Consideration is given to the potential implications for the economies of rural areas.

Three hypotheses are outlined:

rural areas within city-regions have higher productivity than those outside;
being in a city-region has had an impact on recent productivity performance of rural areas;
and future prospects for growth are more favourable for rural areas within city regions.

The degree to which different rural areas fall within the scope of city-regions is considered. The results of a district-based analysis of economic performance, focusing on the differences between rural areas within and outside city regions are presented, with the findings from three case studies.

Background information

One of Defra’s PSA targets is to “reduce the gap in productivity between the least well performing quartile of rural areas and the English median by 2008, demonstrating progress by 2006, and improve the accessibility of services for people in rural areas”. The relationship between rural economic performance and the momentum being generated around cities and city-region thinking raises important issues.

Within this context the study was commissioned to:

set out current definitions of ‘city regions’;
identify to what degree different rural areas fall within the scope of city-regions in England;
identify ways in which rural areas within the city-regions interact with urban areas in the city-region;
and assess the implications for relative economic performance for rural areas outside the city-regions.

Methodology

The study involved a district-based analysis of economic performance looking at productivity and earnings, and comparing rural areas within city-regions with those outside.

Three transect case studies from Cambridge, Birmingham/Sandwell/Wolverhampton and Plymouth are used to illustrate the spatial extent of functional city-regions and the impact they have on the productivity and economy of rural areas.

Conclusions

The main findings were:

that levels of productivity in rural areas within city-regions are about eight per cent higher than those in rural areas outside city-regions;
part of the differential is explicable in terms of contrasting skills levels and occupational structures, regional influences, and location in relation to city-regions;
the earnings of residents in rural areas within city-regions are about eighteen per cent higher than outside;
rural areas within two or more city-regions generally perform better than those in one;
and there has been little change in relative performance in recent years, but rates of output are projected to be higher in rural areas within city regions than in rural areas outside.

Contact info

SQW
Christine Doel, tel. +44 1223 209400

Contact info

Cambridge Econometrics
Anthony Barker, tel. +44 1223 460760

Publication date

Project finished

09/01/2007

Researcher

SQW and Cambridge Econometrics

Links

Visit the SQW Consulting website Visit the Cambridge Econometrics website

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy > Economy knowledge & employment > Urban economy

Keywords

Competitiveness