Drivers of Local Prosperity Differences: People, Firms and Places

地方繁荣差异的驱动因素：人、企业和地方

• 批准号: ES/Z000130/1
• 负责人: Anastasios Kitsos
• 金额: $ 30.34万
• 依托单位: Aston University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FZ000130%2F1
• 关键词: Drivers; Local; Prosperity; Differences; People

This project aims to learn more about what drives the large and persistent productivity differences across regions in the UK. Despite their importance, the factors behind these spatial economic imbalances are still poorly understood. The project will focus on the interaction between the distribution of workers' skills, the characteristics of firms, and local factors like infrastructure and amenities across areas.There are several potential drivers of regional productivity gaps. Highly skilled workers tend to cluster in certain places, potentially making those areas more productive. But demand for skills also depends on the types of businesses located there. Differences in regional industrial structures, with some areas specializing in higher productivity sectors, could also play a role. Even within the same industry, more productive firms and tasks like management and R&D concentrate more in prosperous regions. Finally, differences in local endowments like transport links, housing availability and amenities across places may contribute to spatial inequalities.Previous research has generally looked at these factors in isolation. This project will be the first to rigorously analyse their relative importance simultaneously using novel, granular data from linked administrative datasets covering all workers, firms and localities in England since the 2000s. This micro-level analysis will quantify how much spatial productivity gaps can be explained by the characteristics of people, firms, and places over time, and whether and to what extent some locations seem to be 'intrinsically' more productive.The findings will shed light on what policy levers may be most effective for reducing these imbalances, a key objective of the government's Levelling Up agenda. Deliverables include a comprehensive report for policymakers, policy briefs, a manual enabling further research using these datasets, and workshops engaging stakeholders and building an analytical community in this space.Understanding and addressing the root causes of the UK's severe spatial disparities in economic performance is crucial for enabling more inclusive, regionally balanced growth and boosting national productivity.

这个项目旨在更多地了解是什么导致了英国不同地区之间巨大而持久的生产率差异。尽管它们很重要，但人们对这些空间经济失衡背后的因素仍知之甚少。该项目将侧重于工人技能的分布、公司的特点以及各地区的基础设施和便利设施等当地因素之间的互动。地区生产率差距的潜在驱动因素有几个。高技能工人往往聚集在某些地方，这可能会使这些地区的生产率更高。但对技能的需求也取决于那里的企业类型。地区产业结构的差异也可能起到一定作用，一些地区专门从事生产率较高的行业。即使在同一行业内，生产率更高的公司和任务，如管理和研发，也更多地集中在繁荣地区。最后，不同地区在交通连接、住房供应和便利设施等方面的差异可能会导致空间不平等。以前的研究一般都是孤立地研究这些因素。该项目将是第一个使用新颖的、细粒度的数据同时严格分析它们的相对重要性的项目，这些数据来自涵盖本世纪头十年以来英国所有工人、公司和地方的关联行政数据集。这一微观层面的分析将量化空间生产率差距在多大程度上可以由人、公司和地点的特征来解释，以及某些地点是否以及在多大程度上似乎从本质上更具生产力。研究结果将揭示哪些政策杠杆可能最有效地减少这些失衡，这是政府提升议程的关键目标。交付成果包括一份面向政策制定者的全面报告、政策简报、一份利用这些数据集进行进一步研究的手册，以及与利益攸关方接触并在该领域建立分析社区的研讨会。了解和解决英国经济表现严重空间差异的根本原因，对于实现更具包容性、区域平衡的增长和提高国家生产率至关重要。