Showing papers in "Local Economy in 2012"

Can social enterprise contribute to creating sustainable rural communities? Using the lens of structuration theory to analyse the emergence of rural social enterprise

Abstract: Recent public policies increasingly emphasize the role of communities in service co-production. Collaboration between the state and the public is frequently associated with social enterprise activi...

Exploring entrepreneurial skills and competencies in farm tourism

Abstract: Diversification to farm tourism is increasingly seen as a viable development strategy to promote a more diverse and sustainable rural economy and to counter declining farm incomes. However, our understanding of the dynamics of the modern farm tourism business and the entrepreneurial and competitive skills farmers require in making the transition from agriculture to a diversified - and service based - enterprise remains limited. Hence, the aim of this paper is to explore the range of skills and competencies that farmers in the North West of England identify as important when adopting a diversification strategy to farm tourism. The findings indicate that, whilst a range of managerial skills are valued by farmers, they lack many of the additional business and entrepreneurial competencies required for success. At the same time, however, this paper acknowledges the need to generate consensus on the requisite skill-set that farm tourism operators require, along with a need for a currently fragmented rural tourism literature to acknowledge the significance of rural entrepreneurship and the characteristics of successful farmers and farm tourism ventures.

Nordic paths from welfare to workfare: Danish, Swedish and Finnish labour market reforms in comparison

Abstract: This article engages in a dynamic comparative analysis of key labour market reforms in Denmark, Sweden and Finland from the early 1990s to the 2000s. During this period traditional egalitarian and ...

Rural resilience through continued learning and innovation

Abstract: The article investigates how rural businesses demonstrate resilience when faced with adversities and the processes they utilise to survive. The work explores rural resilience through the use of lea...

Raising the batting average: Re-orientating regional industrial policy to generate more high growth firms:

Abstract: High growth firms play a disproportionate role in contributing to the economic vitality of regional economies. These are precisely the types of businesses that policy makers need to support in order to generate economic growth. Despite this, the article argues that current regional industrial and enterprise promotion policies in the UK are poorly equipped to help firms grow rapidly. This argument is developed by means of a critical examination of innovation support policies in Scotland. Indeed, many governments use such policies as a surrogate form of high growth firm policy. The article discusses the underlying principles and types of support which are needed to help foster and support rapidly growing firms. It argues that effective policy needs to be targeted, selective and customized to the specialist needs of high growth firms. The implementation of these types of policies is best delivered at a sub-national or regional level.

Converging transport policy, industrial policy and environmental policy: The implications for localities and social equity

Abstract: This article argues that nurturing the nascent electric vehicle industry and the attempts to achieve low carbon mobility in Europe, while laudable policy aims, lack a coherent treatment of social equity. The transition process is assumed to be largely technocratic and unproblematic. Consequently, the article identifies inter- and intra-regional dimensions of inequality that are emerging around the convergence of transport policy, industrial policy and environmental policy. First, inter-regional competition and a lack of national or international coordination will result in some regions failing to capture the wealth creation benefits of this new industry. Second, within regions the privileges accorded to those owning and using electric vehicles will further exacerbate mobility disadvantage for those excluded from ownership or use. It is concluded that transitions theory is overly technocentric and pluralist, and lacking in critical content.

Gender balance in the governance of social enterprise

Abstract: There are high expectations placed on social enterprises as alternative forms shaping local economies. However, little is known about how they are governed and their accountability to their local communities. The gender balance of their governing boards and representation of women is therefore an important issue. This paper makes a contribution to examining the claims of greater equality proposed by social enterprises. The results draw on an analysis of a survey of 825 social enterprises and show there is a more equal gender balance in social enterprise governance compared to the private sector. The survey also finds that women are still under-represented on boards when considered as a proportion of the population or the proportion of women’s employment in social enterprises. There is also considerable sectoral concentration and a smaller proportion of women on boards of larger organisations. Social enterprises have the potential to be alternative spaces to encourage greater representation of women in the governance of local economies, but at present there continues to be an imbalance.

From ‘regionalism’ to ‘localism’: Opportunities and challenges for North East England

Abstract: The Coalition Government has abolished regional institutions, with ‘localism’ now regarded as the best approach for promoting economic development and shaping and delivering public services. This article provides an early assessment of the shift by drawing upon research in the North East of England, where the dismantling of the regional tier is likely to have a considerable impact given its long history of regional economic interventions and the traditionally strong level of support for the idea of a coherent regional voice. For some in the region, the changes have generated concerns about the end of the ‘North East’ and scepticism about the Government’s motives for promoting localism. Others articulate a more sanguine view: that there is life ‘after the region’ and that, in any case, the long-standing focus on the ‘North East’, as an administrative and economic construct, was itself problematic. Now, there are signs that a ‘commonsense’ regionalism may be emerging – a pragmatism that recognises that, while the North East needs to take advantage of new opportunities under localism, coordination and integration at the regional level will still be required.

Hyper-local news: A glue to hold rural communities together?

Abstract: A growing body of research interrogates the implementation of communication infrastructures such as broadband connectivity in rural areas, but little has been undertaken into the potential for coll...

A double farewell to a former model? Danish unions and activation policy

Abstract: Developments starting with activation reforms in the 1990s and speeded up during the last 10 years form part of a double farewell to the Danish welfare model. The benefits system has been reformed with the introduction of stricter eligibility criteria, sanctions, shorter benefit periods, and strong work-first elements. The second part of the double farewell is present in recent changes in Danish corporatism. Traditionally, the inclusion of unions in the political process was a key element of the Danish model, but union influence has declined, to the extent that unions are currently better defined as lobbyists rather than as part of a corporatist system. This article outlines recent changes in the Danish model and concludes with a brief prognosis for its future.

Debating conditionality for disability benefits recipients and welfare reform: Research evidence from Pathways to Work:

Abstract: The Coalition Government’s reform of welfare has revived debate about the imposition of conditions on receipt of disability benefits. In particular a debate published in the journal Policy and Politics in 2011 discussed the extension of increased conditionality to this group and the associated policy levers, often referred to as ‘carrots’ (incentives) and ‘sticks’ (sanctions). This article adds to the debate by presenting findings from research with service users of Pathways to Work (until recently the main employment programme for people on disability benefits). These findings help to argue for greater recognition of the heterogeneity and diverse levels of need among disability benefits claimants, demonstrate advantages and disadvantages of conditional benefit receipt, and highlight the limited effectiveness of incentives and sanctions. Furthermore findings suggest a need to reconsider the emphasis in government policy on conditionality, where this obscures messages about the availability of personalised...

A conceptualisation of the relationship capital of rural small service firms

Abstract: Rural southwest Scotland relies to an atypically large extent on its small firms This research adopts a qualitative approach to explore and map the relationships of 12 rural SMEs in the service sector Although formal networks are underdeveloped in rural southwest Scotland, business owners determine alternative ways of overcoming many of the constraints which they face Insights into the ways in which rural SMEs function within their environment reveal that the more agile rural SMEs have overcome their lack of access to networks

The sustainable employment policy agenda: What role for employers?

Abstract: This article focuses on the sustainable employment policy agenda and the role that employers can play in promoting more sustainable transitions from welfare into work. Moving into work has conventi...

Sustainable rural development in England: Policy problems and equity consequences

Abstract: Spatial planning policies ensure a ‘no development’ ethic for rural areas in England, brought about by strong restrictive housing polices and an urban-centric view of sustainable development. Such an ethic is unlikely to be ameliorated by the Localism Bill passing through the English Parliament in 2010–11. Economic development policies provide confusing signals for rural sustainable development as they appear simultaneously to require the pursuit of productivity, well-being, endogenous development and income support: objectives that are not compatible. Together these policy sets are likely to exacerbate inequalities in both wealth and opportunity in rural areas. This inhibits the achievement of sustainable development when viewed as having equity considerations at its core.

From the 'feminization of agriculture' to the 'ageing of farming populations' : demographic transition and farming in a central Chinese village

Abstract: Great changes in terms of land and labour systems in rural China have been brought about by the economic reform in the late 1970s. The implementation of family planning policy and the tidal waves o...

What factors enable community leadership of renewable energy projects? Lessons from a woodfuel heating initiative:

Abstract: Increasing renewable energy generation is fundamental to sustainable development as current reliance on fossil fuel combustion is an environmentally damaging, inequitable use of finite resources with far-reaching negative social impacts. To date, UK energy policy has sought to increase renewable energy capacity by encouraging large-scale commercially led developments. Recently, however, there has been growing interest in the scope for alternative small scale and community-led renewable energy development. This case study research from northwest England investigates the development of a community-led woodfuel heating project in a remote rural setting. Qualitative data from project participants’ interviews show the project was conceived as means of addressing multiple threats to the sustainability of their rural community. Participants’ vision of the project was found to fit the eco-economy paradigm.

Natural resource abundance and eminent domain: A case study from Africa

Abstract: This Viewpoint article draws on the doctrine of eminent domain (or compulsory purchase) as an analytical framework to analyse the regional and local impacts of a new source of oil. Sekondi-Takoradi...

Welfare reform and labour market activation

Abstract: In 2010, the UK’s Coalition Government published its White Paper on welfare reform: Universal Credit: Welfare that Works (DWP, 2010). Although mostly a continuation of the reforms of the last Labour Government, the ideas contained in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) document were distilled in long gestation during the Conservatives’ period in opposition, led by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), a think-tank established by Ian Duncan Smith, the current Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. The CSJ’s views on benefit reform were set out in the doorstep-like publication Dynamic Benefits (CSJ, 2009) which formed the basis for the Conservative Party’s campaign on the issue in the 2010 election. Both the DWP and CSJ documents dwell on a number of shortcomings identified in the existing system of social security, including complexity, poor incentives to work, and unsustainable costs, although in the CSJ document there is also considerable emphasis on the encouragement of desirable behaviour. The proposals formed the basis for the introduction of the Welfare Reform Bill, which received Royal Assent in 2012. Central to the reform is the introduction of Universal Credit, which will begin taking claims in October 2013, with the aim of complete transition by October 2017. It will replace a range of existing means-tested benefits and tax credits for people of working age including Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credit, and Working Tax Credit. To serve as a reminder that welfare reform is a never completed task for governments, it can be noted that one of the benefits designed to be replaced by Universal Credit – Employment Support Allowance (ESA) – is barely four years old, itself replacing Incapacity Benefit. The grand design is in the merging of out-of-work and in-work benefits in order to enable the introduction of a single taper rate – the rate at which benefits are

Sustainable travel behaviour and the widespread impacts on the local economy

Abstract: Statistics show that unsustainable travel behaviour and global greenhouse gas emissions are growing and due to the perceived indispensable nature of personal travel, shifts to more sustainable modes remain a challenge. Automobility supports sustained local economic growth but also raises issues around safety, health, road fatalities, traffic and congestion and detrimental environmental impacts. This paper addresses the issue of sustainable mobility by investigating how to increase sustainable travel choices and, where this is not possible, ensure existing travel choices and patterns are as environmentally-friendly as possible. Existing soft initiatives aimed at increasing sustainable travel behaviour fail to fully acknowledge that travel decisions are made at the individual level and that tailored strategies would be more effective at targeting distinct behavioural patterns. Influencing changes in travel behaviour at the local level demonstrates significant potential where individual behaviour can be influenced if appropriate support at the system level is in place and complies with the needs of individuals. This paper demonstrates that, in doing so, this will simultaneously address other areas, such as accessibility, employability, health and sustainable growth, crucial to the establishment and survival of automobility by both supporting local economic growth and achieving reductions in Carbon emissions.

Rural transport and social inclusion: The DalesBus Initiative

Abstract: The importance of rural transport in addressing social exclusion has been acknowledged for some time. We report and comment on one particular case in North Yorkshire, a predominantly rural county in England, of how state, non-state and third/societal sectors worked together to market and improve public transport links and reduce social exclusion. The article examines the outcomes of a SIS (Stimulating Innovation for Success) project: a leisure-based public transport network located in North Yorkshire. It comments on the efficacy of this relationship and in particular with one agency, the Dales and Bowland Community Interest Company.

The promotion of local wellbeing: A primer for policymakers

Abstract: There is growing interest among policymakers in the promotion of wellbeing as an objective of public policy. In particular, local authorities have been given powers to undertake action to promote wellbeing in their area. Recent advances in the academic literature on wellbeing are giving rise to an increasingly detailed picture of the factors that determine people’s subjective wellbeing (how they think and feel about their lives). However, the concept of subjective wellbeing is poorly understood within local government and much of the evidence base is extremely recent. I therefore review the literature on the definition, measurement, and determinants of wellbeing, and discuss some of its implications for local public policy.

Low carbon mobility versus private car ownership: Towards a new business vision for the automotive world?:

Abstract: This article considers a generalized leasing model for car use as a means of better reconciling profit seeking by car makers with environmental improvements, while supporting income generation and employment in the car business sector. It locates its contribution against the ‘extended producer responsibility’ framework, proposed by some as a basis for a corporate response to environmental and resource concerns. We show that within limits a reorganization of the business model informing the volume car market offers one part of a solution to problems of economic growth and climate change. The article progresses to consider obstacles to change and options for government policy.

Challenges in combining work and care: Evidence from investigating women’s work in Leeds:

Abstract: Using official data and other evidence about the people and economy of the city of Leeds, England, and focusing on one decade, the 2000s, this article considers employment trends and policy develop...

Making, contesting and governing the local: women’s labour and the local state

Abstract: This paper explores how women’s activism contributed to the generation of local capacities and resources (‘making’ the local); how women attempted to subvert or co-opt emerging patterns of local governance (‘contesting’ the local); and engaged with strategies of governing and managing local communities (‘governing’ the local). In elaborating these themes the paper draws on empirical research that suggests how these practices succeeded each other within different political-governmental regimes, but also how they were entangled in individual working lives. The paper then draws on the analysis to show how it might speak to the present regime of cuts, retrenchment and the closure of many of the spaces of power that previous generations of women had forged.

High-growth firms: A new policy paradigm or a need for caution?

Abstract: UK enterprise policy is going through a period of relative hiatus and reflection, offering an opportune time to consider its possible future direction. One shift in the policy focus could be from an emphasis on start-up to the support of firms with high-growth potential. This short paper suggests some reasons for caution when considering such a refocusing of policy.

The innovation performance of small rural enterprises and cooperatives in Tehran province, Iran

Abstract: Rural small enterprises, especially those which are involved in processing and packaging food products, play an important role in creating opportunities for employment and producing value added products in the agriculture sector. However, a major challenge for these enterprises is a lack of sustainability. In this research, innovation was examined as the key factor for sustainability of small rural enterprises. The findings show regional cooperatives perform better in terms of innovation compared to private enterprises. This advantage could be seen in both product/service and market innovations.

Housing in the welfare state: Partitioning places and people

Abstract: The language of disadvantaged neighbourhoods, social exclusion and social and spatial segregation has been prominent in policy debates in the UK in recent decades and has been associated with failures in health, education, employment, crime and other policies. But while these patterns are seen as creating problems the underlying trend towards increased social and spatial division has been speeded by policy changes. Cities, towns and neighbourhoods in the UK have been shaped and reshaped by the national and local welfare state especially through housing and planning policies. This short article examines the likely effects of the current round of welfare reform and policy change, and argues that they promise to further erode the effects of earlier interventions and create a more difficult context for social and economic success.

Spatial patterns of labour market deprivation in Scotland: Concentration, isolation and persistence

Abstract: The measurement of deprivation at the small area level has been an important element of the evidence base for policy targeting and formulation in the United Kingdom over the past two decades. In Sc...

A new perspective on local political entrepreneurship: Evidence from Portugal

Abstract: Despite the important existing contributions on public and political entrepreneurship, research on these topics is still scarce, particularly at the empirical level. Studies on political entreprene...

Deepening disadvantages in housing markets for women

Abstract: Housing policy in England and Wales has undergone a major shift in emphasis since the Coalition Government in the UK determined to use housing markets to resolve housing needs. In many locations so...