Competitive Advantage or
Collaboration: Economic
Development Issues on the
Anglo-Scottish Border
Professor Frank Peck (CRED Director)
Centre for Regional Economic Development
ESRC Research Seminar Series
'Close Friends'? Assessing the Impact of Greater Scottish
Autonomy on the North of England
•To locate contemporary debate in historic and cultural context
•To assess different outcomes of the Referendum for Governance
•To identify economic challenges and opportunities
•To analyse the implications of greater tax-raising powers in Scotland
•To consider lessons from international experience
•To inform policy debates north and south of Border
ESRC Research Seminar Series
'Close Friends'? Assessing the Impact of Greater Scottish Autonomy on
the North of England
Seminar 1: Historical and Cultural Significance (Northumbria)
Seminar 2: Challenges of Governance (Durham)
Seminar 3: Economic Development Issues (Carlisle)
Seminar 4: Fiscal Issues (Nuffield College, Oxford)
Seminar 5: International Lessons (UCL)
Seminar 6: Collaborative Opportunities (Edinburgh)
ESRC Research Seminar Series
'Close Friends'? Assessing the Impact of Greater Scottish Autonomy on
the North of England
Seminar 3: Competitive Advantage or Collaboration: Economic Development Issues on the
Anglo-Scottish Border
•
Improve our understanding of the enablers and constraints on Cross-Border
Collaboration
•
Identify economic challenges and opportunities associated with the Border
•
Explore potential areas of common interest
Competitive Advantage or Collaboration
Three starting questions:
Border area or Border region – what do we mean by this?
Borders – what makes them permeable?
Cross-border collaboration – why should we bother?
Border Issues - Are we clear about the context
within which these are defined?
•“Close Border Area” – communities that lie either side of the Border itself
•“Strategic authorities” - with boundaries on the Anglo-Scottish Border (Cumbria,
Northumberland, D&G, Scottish Borders)
•The wider border area - North of England, South of Scotland
•The national context – relations between England, Scotland, N Ireland
•The European context – inter-regional collaboration
Border Issues –How do these vary depending on
spatial scale?
•
Previous research on Borders has shown that Awareness of border issues in
Strategies tends to decline with increased scale (though there are exceptions) ……
• ……. but the capacity to engage in cross-border collaboration often increases
with increased scale
• Is there an optimum scale?
•
The definition of “border issues” changes with increased scale and distance of
decision-makers from borders (e.g. Ireland case study)
• “Close issues” – security, commuting, retailing, access to services, public transport
• “Far issues” – inward investment, sector strategies, regional transport
infrastructure
• How can these different perspectives be combined?
What factors make a Border “permeable”?
•
•
•
•
•
The Knowledge infrastructure – interaction between institutions and research
organisations oriented to the needs of the regional economy
The Business dimension – adoption of “high road” business development that focus on
innovation rather than cost reduction as a competitive model
The Relational dimension – symmetric trans-boundary relationships - high levels of
cross-border exchange between institutions and individuals in parallel roles
Socio-institutional dimension – historic, social, cultural, linguistic ties between
neighbouring territories
Governance dimension – relatively stable and well resourced devolved systems of local
and regional governance where decision-makers are sensitive to border issues
(Trippl 2009, OECD 2013)
Cross-Border Collaboration - Why Bother?
•
It generates critical mass for business or public sector bodies - generates both
economies of scale and scope (BUT how is this critical mass to be
harnessed/governed?)
•
It magnifies political impact – “singe voice” in regions that are remote from their
respective capitals (BUT can we agree common issues to focus on?)
•
It provides a basis for specialization (BUT this is a test of trust between neighbours –
who will specialise in what?)
•
It provides opportunities to combine resources and capabilities across borders
communities on both sides gain benefits (BUT what is the mechanism or process
whereby strategies and funding are to be aligned?)
Competitive Advantage or
Collaboration: Economic
Development Issues on the
Anglo-Scottish Border
Professor Frank Peck (CRED Director)
Centre for Regional Economic Development