Transcript Slide 1

Where can the West Midlands
economy go?
Mike Haynes
Professor of International
Political Economy
The Recent Past: Restructuring or Distorting the
UK Economy?
Coalition Fairytales? – How the Sun viewed the
situation in Spring 2011
UK’ s actual performance is very poor last three quarters to summer 2011
Looking More Nasty?
A Tale of Two Great Depressions in UK
GDP Index by Quarter 1930s and 2008 to date
110
105
1930s
100
95
90
30
/0
81
30
/0
84
31
/0
91
31
/0
93
32
/1
01
32
/1
03
33
/1
11
33
/1
13
34
/1
21
34
/1
23
85
Current
depression
The West Midlands and the Black
Country
Impressive
Past?
Heritage Trail
Future?
A Low Value added Region?
Uncertain Futures
Issues ‘Structural Vulnerability’, ‘Long term structural
decline’
1. Falling relative GVA since 1975 compared to national
average
2. Unemployment
3. Missing high growth firms
4. Skills gaps
5. Deprivation
6. Environment
(a) What needs to be done and who can deliver?
(b) Is less more or even less?
(c) Will more of the same work?
i54 Good news thanks to Tata but ‘a
Car Plant does not one summer
make’
Thank you
• This presentation is available online at
http://www.wlv.ac.uk/uwbs80years