Growth coalitions and local economic development : a case-study of the Hampshire Development Association

Axford, Nicholas Roger Langley (1992) Growth coalitions and local economic development : a case-study of the Hampshire Development Association. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Abstract

The thesis addresses two main issues relating to the proliferation of economic development policy-making by local authorities in the UK over the last twenty years: first, what is it that determines the nature of the economic strategy adopted by a particular authority; second, how can those policies best be evaluated? This research examines these questions by means of a case-study of the Hampshire Development Association (HDA), an organisation created by the County Council to promote investment in the Hampshire economy. The first section of the thesis develops an analytical framework to understand the way in which a variety of local interests are incorporated into the economic policy-making processes of the local state. Representational, Neo-Weberian and Neo-Marxist theories are examined, and a number of approaches to the study of local government are reviewed. It is concluded that the concept of local spatial coalitions provides the most satisfactory foundation upon which to base explanations of local economic development activity. The second section focuses on the promotional strategy developed by the HDA. Documentary research, interviews and questionnaires are utilised to understand and evaluate the policies pursued by the HDA. The process of industrial location decision-making is examined to illustrate how, and why, the HDA was able to influence the locational choices of some firms. The results reveal that the processes and factors involved in location decision-making vary considerably between firms. The HDA was therefore only able to influence decisions through a detailed understanding of the particular needs of the firm concerned. The thesis concludes by examining the way in which economic, social and political changes within Hampshire undermined the cohesion of the alliance upon which the HDA was based, eventually leading to its closure. As a result of this analysis of the HDA, some implications for the application of local spatial coalition theory in the UK are highlighted.

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