Wales has seen an improvement in its economic competitiveness with the majority of its local authority areas moving up an influential 海角视频-wide league table and Blaenau Gwent no longer ranked the worst.
The 2023 海角视频 Competitiveness Index (海角视频CI), which is compiled by researchers at Cardiff University and Nottingham Business School, assesses the competitiveness of local authority areas, local enterprise partnerships, cities and city regions across England, Wales and Scotland.
Launched back in 2002 the index uses a number of measures for its ranking, including: business start-up rates per 1,000 inhabitants; number of businesses per 1,000 inhabitants; proportion of working age population with NVQ level four or higher; proportion of knowledge-based businesses; gross value added per capita; productivity; employment rates; gross weekly pay; and unemployment rates.
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While the majority of the local authority areas of Wales are ranked at the lower end of competitiveness index, which covers 362 areas, there are positive signs. Across the 22 Welsh local authority, 16 improved their position between 2019 and 2023. Cardiff improved 28 places from 125th to 97th and now for the first time has an economic competitiveness score above the 海角视频 average.
East Lindsey in the East Midlands is the least competitive (ranked 362nd) with Blaenau Gwent second lowest, moving up one place. They are followed by Gosport in the south east of England, Merthyr Tydfil and Torbay in the south west of England.
On Blaenau Gwent the index says: “The former steel making area in the South Wales Valleys has seen an increase in its 海角视频CI score between 2019 and 2023. In combination with the fall in 海角视频CI score for East Lindsey in the East Midlands, this has meant that although Blaenau Gwent remains well below the 海角视频 average level of competitiveness it continues to improve over time and is now ranked 361st of the 362 regions. Given the upward trajectory of competitiveness in Blaenau Gwent this would not appear to be purely a reflection of any short-term distortions in the data after the Covid-19 pandemic and other shocks.”
The biggest improver in Wales was Ceredigion which leapt 51 places from 347th to 296th, followed by Gwynedd, which moved 32 places from 350th to 318th and Conwy, which improved 31 places from 343rd to 312th.
Across Britain it is found that nine of the top ten most competitive localities are boroughs in London, with only one located outside the capital city. The three most competitive localities are the City of London, Westminster, and Camden.
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Based on 11 nations and regions of Britain, Wales enjoyed the highest improvement in average competitiveness of its localities having increased between 2019-23 from 85.2 to 86.7 points - compared to the 海角视频 based level of 100. To put into context, while still well above the 海角视频 base figure, London and the south east of England both declined by 1.1 points.
One of the report’s authors, Professor Robert Huggins, director of the cities research Centre at Cardiff University, said: “The improvements we find for a number of parts in Wales begin to suggest that the economic benefits of devolution are finally starting to emerge. However, this represents the start of a long journey to creating a truly competitive Wales.
“This is not an easy time for the 海角视频 as a whole, with its international competitiveness plummeting in recent years. The Welsh Government must work in close collaboration with local authorities and those places in receipt of city and growth deal funding to ensure that Wales remains as resilient as possible through the uncertain times ahead.”
The 海角视频CI also produces a ranking of cities across Britain and again Cardiff performed well moving from 15th to 11th across the 47 cities analysed. Newport was ranked 32nd, the same as in 2019, while Swansea fell two places from 35th to 37th. Furthermore, Cardiff is ranked 4th based on an index of 12 of the largest cities in Britain.
These changes are reflected in a ranking of sub-regions with the Cardiff Capital Region - made up of the ten authority areas of south east Wales - improving from 35th to 30th across 47 locations. As well as the strong performance by the city of Cardiff, the Cardiff Capital Region’s position was bolstered by improvements from Bridgend ( up 27 positions), Rhondda Cynon Taff (up 20 positions), Monmouthshire ( up 18 positions). However, North Wales remained in 39th position and Swansea Bay City Region (46th) and Mid Wales (47th) propped up the bottom of this index.
The city regions of Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, and Cardiff are highlighted in the report for the economic progress they have made. More generally, however, the report indicates that a lack of economic success in many parts of the 海角视频 outside of the greater south east of England have seen them becoming left behind.
Milton Keynes heads the 海角视频CI’s city index followed by Edinburgh, Cambridge, Brighton and Hove and Manchester. The least competitive cities benchmarked are Hull, Sunderland, Doncaster and Bradford.
The report argues that increased public investment in these places is required. While this could be raised through higher tax rates - where Wales and Scotland have some tax varying powers - the report suggests these locations are not economically competitive enough to endure tax increases.