Decentralising the United Kingdom: the Northern Powerhouse strategy and urban ownership links between firms since 2010

Abstract

This paper explores a decentralisation initiative in the United Kingdom - the Northern Powerhouse strategy (NPS) - in terms of its main goal: strengthening connectivity between Northern cities of England. It focuses on economic interactions of these cities, defined by ownership linkages between firms, since the NPS's launch in 2010. The analysis reveals a relatively weak increase in the intensity of economic regional patterns in the North, in spite of a shift away from NPS cities' traditional manufacturing base. These results suggest potential directions for policy-makers in terms of the future implementation of the NPS.