Delivering growth? Evaluating economic governance in England's South East subregions

Abstract

The 2010-15 UK coalition government's commitment to 'localism' in planning was in marked contrast to the emphasis on cross-boundary strategic planning initiatives under the preceding Labour government. Against this background, the paper examines the implications of evolving economic governance arrangements in three subregional 'soft spaces' in England's South East region. A distinctive evaluative frame derives a set of criteria for 'good economic governance' as perceived by the stakeholders concerned, and a judgement regarding the 'quality' of economic governance in each case is presented. The conclusion triangulates these results against economic growth outcomes across the respective subregions.