EPRC Seminar: Changing economic development policy, structures and resources in England

On 30 March, EPRC hosted a seminar by Richard Cairns and Craig Renney of the Audit Commission. The presentation focused on the changes currently taking place in economic development policy, structures and resources in England. It described the radical departure taking place from the previous Labour Government's 'market failures' model of regional development, with the Coalition Government cutting back spending and areas of intervention, and promoting supply-side reforms over demand-side oriented policy. The presentation discussed the new government policies for growth, the structural changes being made and the potential distributional impact of reduced resources. The presentation was followed by a lively discussion of the issues and challenges, with discussion of the potential implications for economic development policy in Scotland. The presentation slides from the seminar are available http://www.eprc.strath.ac.uk/news/EPRC economic Development Policy in England cs.pdf .