Lessons on place-based development: A new agenda for Combined Authority Mayors

Place-based development has flown up the political agenda in recent weeks with the appointment of Andy Burnham as the UK Prime Minister. Local mayors are now being encouraged to lead their localities in redevelopment in the manner of Greater Manchester. But most British cities have been underperforming economically. According to the Centre for Cities, big cities outside London have 16% of the population but only 15% of gross value-added of the economy, in contrast to other G7 economies where big cities add more value (Lin and Johnson 2026). And how Manchester achieved its success is debated (e.g., Goulding, Leaver and Silver 2025, GMCA 2026).

This note sets out an essential reading list that creates a new agenda for combined authority mayors, based on research evidence. The list focuses on the key lessons from studies by Dani Rodrik, The Resolution Foundation and the OECD.

First on our list is the work of economist Dani Rodrik. Rodrik introduces the need to develop a clear strategy for the creation of ‘good jobs’ in in economy (Rodrik and Stantcheva 2021, Rodrik 2022). As well as his own research, Rodrik draws upon work by Fallows and Fallows (2018) which highlights the role of local innovation in creating change.

After the global financial crisis, James and Deborah Fallows travelled across the United States to assess how communities had responded to economic difficulties, in an echo of John Steinbeck’s journey described in Travels with Charley. The Fallows’ visited towns and cities facing decline and an uncertain future. What they discovered was not simply a story of decline, but one of local experimentation and renewal. Across the country, public-private partnerships worked to revitalise downtown areas, develop parks and cultural centres, modernise workforce training programmes, and foster entrepreneurship and create jobs. Local communities had established innovative ways to adapt to change and rebuild their economies (Fallows and Fallows 2018).

The value of public-private partnerships with local actors is also highlighted in the second report on our list, produced by the Resolution Foundation (Frick et al., 2023) as part of the Economy 2030 Inquiry. This report discusses lessons from case studies of successful ‘turnaround cities’, including Lille in France, Dortmund in Germany, and Newcastle in Australia. The first lesson from these cases is that cities and regions must be attractive for both employers and employees to live in. The second lesson is that comprehensive and integrated strategies for local economies are more effective than a series of ad hoc interventions. The third lesson is that local policymakers need to build on existing regional strengths rather than pursuing ambitious projects disconnected from local economic realities, to avoid creating “cathedrals in the desert.”

The Resolution Foundation report re-iterates the need for strong local and regional leadership in reversing economic underperformance. Every turnaround case was driven by local actors. Cities transformed when significant, stable, and long-term investment steadily developed local capabilities rather than dispersing resources across many short-term

projects. Successful turnaround strategies resulted from collaboration, with public and private partnership including public agencies, businesses, educational institutions, and civic organisations all working in the pursuit of shared objectives.

Going back to the work of Rodrik, emphasis is also placed on the need for better business support. Rodrik references the work of Tim Bartik (2020) who counsels against tax breaks to argue for targeted investments that address the specific needs of businesses as the most effective approach to boosting local jobs. Bartik (2020) labels these measures ‘public services to business.’ They include providing customised workforce training, business advice, and infrastructure improvements. Public services to business can boost firm productivity, competitiveness and sustainable local employment growth.

The role of business advisory services (BAS) in supporting local development is the focus of the third study on our list, recently published by the OECD (OECD 2026). This report examines case studies of Málaga in Spain, the South East Ireland, and Scania in Sweden to learn lessons about place-based economic transformation. The first lesson drawn from the OECD case studies is that providing effective BAS requires consistent funding, both to maintain the advisory services, but also help with awareness among businesses. Second, BAS platforms must provide businesses with clear signposting, because firms must navigate often complex support ecosystems. Third, specialist advisory services need to be effectively coordinated, with strong links between intermediaries and other sources of expertise and support. The latter hints at an ‘account management’ style of BAS.

The OECD report also emphasises the importance of aligning BAS initiatives with local economic development priorities. For example, specialised incubators and accelerators can support priority sectors and mobilise experienced mentors drawn from the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. Finally, the study stresses that support should be targeted towards firms with the greatest potential to benefit. Selection criteria should therefore consider factors such as growth ambitions, market opportunities, absorptive capacity, and a firm’s willingness to engage actively with programmes. Collectively, these findings suggest that successful BAS form part of a coordinated, long-term strategy for local economic development (OECD, 2026).

The value of public-private partnerships and long-term local strategies supported by public services is emphasised in all these studies. Rodrik argues that taken together, these policies might amount to a new type of industrial policy (Rodrik and Stantcheva 2021, Rodrik 2022). Traditional industrial policy has tended to focus on large manufacturing firms with support for innovation and investment through subsidies driven through the centre. This new approach would instead focus on firms of all sizes and sectors, with support for a portfolio of customised business services driven through a consistent local offer.

Local authorities and directly elected mayors now find themselves in a central co-ordinating role for a new form of decentralised industrial policy. Although this can co-exist with more traditional approaches, if it is to be a success, it is crucial to learn from the research evidence about what works. This points to a renewed focus on leading public-private partnerships and strategies based on local strengths and opportunities. And it is essential that this is backed by the provision of widely accessible business support services tailored to local needs.

Kevin Mole, Enterprise Research Centre

Please note that the views expressed in this blog belong to the individual bloggers and do not represent the official view of the

Enterprise Research Centre, its Funders or Advisory Group

Bartik, T. J. 2020. Bringing Jobs To People: Improving Local Economic Development Policies. Kalamazoo, MI: Policy Paper No. 2020-023. W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
Fallows, J. & D. Fallows. 2018. Our towns: A 100,000-mile journey into the heart of America. New York: Vintage.
Frick, S., Taylor, I., Prenzel, P., Penney, K., Collier, P., Goodstadt, V., McCann, P., & Mayer, C. (2023). Lessons from successful ‘turnaround’cities for the UK. Navigating Economic Change.
GMCA. 2026. Economic Growth in Greater Manchester. available at https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/media/dwen3ltn/ifs-gm-economic-growth-paper-web-final-accessible.pdf: GMCA.
Goulding, R., A. Leaver & J. Silver. 2025. Centripetal Cities A critique of supply-side urban development. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5176817 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5176817.
Lin, X. & R. Johnson. 2026. Big Cities Outlook 2026. London Centre for Cities.
OECD (2026), “Business advice and place transformation”, OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers, No. 2026/07, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/45d2e5b2-en
Rodrik, D. 2022. An Industrial Policy for Good Jobs Washington D.C. : The Hamilton Project, Brookings
Rodrik, D. & S. Stantcheva (2021) Fixing capitalism’s good jobs problem. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 37, 824-837.