This paper examines the role of geography in shaping regional economic development. More specifically, it is interested in whether economic performance depends on the presence of a dominant large city, or whether regions can achieve prosperity through cultivating a regional network of medium-sized cities and boroughs.
The research also explores the strategies that polycentric regions – those with a network of medium-sized cities and boroughs – should pursue to generate the best possible economic outcomes for the people and businesses who live and work in them. While the focus is on regional economic development in England, the international evidence on which the paper draws offers lessons for developing and developed market economies more broadly.
Author Jonathan Gibson