The British Academy has launched its latest publication as part of its Policy Histories series on the history of regional development policy in the UK.
Comprising of 9 essays by historians, sociologists and geographers (including a helpful chronology charting developments as they happened), this collection traces the development of regional development policy in the UK in areas from the economy to public health over the course of the twentieth century. The authors found that attempts overall to decentre the economy from London, both through state intervention and the markets, has not worked, often by not considering the need for different approaches to different places, and that regional policy has over-focused too much on the economy more so than healthcare, resulting in a growing disparity in healthcare across regions.
The collection is free to download via the British Academy website:
The Policy Histories series is intended to provide historical insights to inform current policymaking. For more about the series, see here.
