New Regionalism in the UK: eliminating spatial disparities in unemployment?

Abstract

Regional employment policies in the UK can be classified as conforming to the New Regionalism (NR) paradigm with a 'Third Way' concern for social inclusion. In place of the Keynesian welfare state policy of full employment, the government favours development of clusters and promotion of social entrepreneurship as the engines of economic growth, stimulus for labour demand, developing the 'employability' of workless groups and as a means of addressing social exclusion. This article scrutinises the viability of this programme as a means of eliminating spatial disparities in unemployment and finds that it is incapable of achieving this objective in an environment of macroeconomic constraint.