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Small towns as 'sub-poles' in English rural development: Investigating rural-urban linkages using sub-regional social accounting matrices

Courtney, Paul; Mayfield, Lucy; Tranter, Richard; Jones, Philip; Errington, Andrew

Authors

Paul Courtney

Lucy Mayfield

Richard Tranter

Philip Jones

Andrew Errington



Abstract

This paper uses spatial economic data from four small English towns to measure the strength of economic integration between town and hinterland and to estimate the magnitude of town-hinterland spill-over effects. Following estimation of local integration indicators and inter-locale flows, sub-regional social accounting matrices (SAMs) are developed to estimate the strength of local employment and output multipliers for various economic sectors. The potential value of a town as a 'sub-pole' in local economic development is shown to be dependent on structural differences in the local economy, such as the particular mix of firms within towns. Although the multipliers are generally small, indicating a low level of local linkages, some sectors, particularly financial services and banking, show consistently higher multipliers for both output and employment. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Citation

Courtney, P., Mayfield, L., Tranter, R., Jones, P., & Errington, A. (2007). Small towns as 'sub-poles' in English rural development: Investigating rural-urban linkages using sub-regional social accounting matrices. Geoforum, 38(6), 1219-1232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2007.03.006

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Nov 1, 2007
Journal Geoforum
Print ISSN 0016-7185
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Not Peer Reviewed
Volume 38
Issue 6
Pages 1219-1232
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2007.03.006
Keywords small towns, English rural development, growth poles, social accounting matrices
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1023771
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2007.03.006
Additional Information Additional Information : Economy and Society Courtney was lead and corresponding author and principal author of the introductory, theoretical and discussion sections. The remainder was jointly constructed from an EU framework V project.


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