International Finance Forum (IFF) Co-Chairman and Principal and Vice Chancellor of Scotland’s University of Glasgow Anton Muscatelli has co-authored a short opinion-editorial in the United Kingdom’s Times newspaper on September 4 on the subject of the UK government’s local growth plans under its new Labour Party Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The article’s co-author Graeme Roy, who is Deputy Head of College, Assistant Vice Principal & Professor of Economics, also at the University of Glasgow, and Chair of the Scottish Fiscal Commission, outlined it in a post on LinkedIn (see link below).

The op-ed notes that a study by UK-based The Productivity Institute shows that one barrier holding back UK productivity is the relative underperformance of its major tier-2 city regions such as Glasgow, Manchester, and Birmingham.

Turning around the performance of these cities over the medium to long-term will be critical to not only boosting national productivity, but ensuring balanced growth across regions as well, the authors argue.

They first cite the myriad of initiatives over the years on regional and urban economic development in an effort to urge the authorities to not seek to reinvent the wheel, since recent experience offers many lessons for guidance. An earlier article this month that co-author Graeme Roy wrote with David Waite and published in the Herald offers insights into some of these lessons, per the post.

Second, in tier-2 city regions, skills and innovation have the potential to be key to driving productivity growth at scale. Linking investments in these areas to the distinct opportunities - and challenges - in these cities will be vital, the authors maintain.

Third, providing flexibility so that plans can adapt to the many unforeseen events such as have occurred in recent years will be key, the authors say, adding that early discussions around ‘trailblazer’ deals for English cities, which combine increased funding flexibility with long-term certainty, will also be a welcome step.

Finally, if part of the plan is to give City Regions a greater say in national policy agendas, including new institutional frameworks to engage with the UK government - such as the widely-trialed Council of the Nations and Regions - they question how this might work with the existing devolution arrangements present in the UK, and whether the Scottish City Regions might also have a role to play here.

Here is a link to the original post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/graeme-roy-b61255162_how-to-boost-economic-growth-in-glasgow-and-activity-7235262964872663040-vXjM/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Here is a link to the original article: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/how-to-boost-economic-growth-in-glasgow-and-other-uk-cities-r8m5ftpx5