Rebalancing the economy sectorally and spatially: An evidence review – Executive summary
This summary highlights the key findings from the international evidence review rebalancing the economy spatially and sectorally.
Rebalancing the economy sectorally and spatially: An evidence review. Evidence report 33 – Executive summary (PDF, 410 Kb)
Published August 2011
This report draws on an extensive review of relevant conceptual, empirical, policy and evaluation literature from the UK and abroad to understand the rationale and effectiveness of government intervention to rebalance the economy sectorally and spatially. The report explores the following areas:
- the nature and scale of the ‘rebalancing’ challenge in the UK, and its causes
- the rationale for state intervention in the sectoral and spatial structure of the economy, both in the UK and abroad
- types of interventions that have been employed by governments to influence the sectoral and geographical structure of the economy, particularly in terms of skills and employment interventions
- what works and why in ‘rebalancing’ economies sectorally and spatially
- what might be done in the UK to create a more (re)balanced economy, and the implications for skills policy in supporting this process
As part of the study, a typology of interventions was developed to help classify different types of actions to assist in economic ‘rebalancing’ and this is presented in the main report. The report also includes formal projections of the amenability of the UK economy to ‘rebalancing’ objectives. The second volume of the report contains five international case studies on Finland, Germany, Korea, Netherlands and Germany which informed the findings in the main report.
