Discussions of local and regional development have recently broadened from a preoccupation with growth to one which captures the notion of resilience. This paper makes two main contributions to these debates. First, the paper critiques static equilibrium-based notions of resilience and instead...

We argue that identification problems bedevil most applied spatial research. Spatial econometrics solves these problems by deriving estimators assuming that functional forms are known and by using model comparison techniques to let the data choose between competing specifications. We argue that...

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are used for inputting, storing, managing, analysingand mapping spatial data. This article argues that each of these functions can help researchersinterested in spatial economics. In addition, GIS provide access to new data which is bothinteresting in its...

Many prior treatments of agglomeration either explicitly or implicitly suppose that all industries agglomerate for the same reasons, with traditional Marshallian (1890) factors affecting all industries similarly. An important instance of this approach is the extrapolation of the agglomeration...

In most countries economic prosperity is very unevenly distributed across space: regions, cities and neighbourhoods seem to be very unequal, whether we look at average earnings, employment, education or almost any other socio-economic outcome. Regional, urban and neighbourhood policies are often...

Business support policies designed to raise productivity and employment are common worldwide, but rigorous micro-econometric evaluation of their causal effects is rare. We exploit multiple changes in the area-specific eligibility criteria for a major program to support manufacturing jobs...

The paper uses the framework of Markov chains to examine convergence in the location ofinward foreign direct investment across the regions of Great Britain over 1985-2005. Ananalysis is undertaken by industry group that disaggregates manufacturing and services. Itfinds convergence in regional...

Data for the UK show Northern Ireland remains at the bottom of the productivity leaguetable, and that its R&D performance is consistently amongst the lowest across the UKregions. This paper analyses the data from a survey of some 250 matched firms operating inNorthern Ireland (approximately half...

The theory and empirical evidence on FDI location emphasise agglomeration economies over classical location factors, such as grants. This paper uses panel data to analyse the effect of the main instrument of inward investment policy, the UK regional policy grants, on the distribution of FDI...