Policy Review Section

Abstract

In this Policy Review Section, Iain Begg of the Department of Applied Economics, University of Cambridge, considers the increasing interest in the role of training as an instrument of regional policy. He stresses that the scope for training to be used in this way depends very much on what specific objectives are being pursued. In Begg's view, training will only be effective if it is part of a co-ordinated and wide-ranging regional aid package which is designed to assist both the unemployed and contribute to improved regional economic performance. In the second article, John Fairley of the Department of Business Studies, University of Edinburgh, examines how the government reforms in Scotland which will lead to the winding up of the Scottish Development Agency and the Training Agency and their replacement by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, (see Regional Studies 23, 549–64) are likely to effect the provision of vocational education and training. Finally, Paul Foley of the Department of Town and Regional Planning, University of Sheffield, considers the increasing trend for policy makers, academics and economic development organizations to collect economic and industrial data on the local economy through business surveys. Based upon the experience of a collaborative scheme in Sheffield between the local authority, education institutions, chamber of commerce and central government agencies, Foley suggests that it is possible to overcome duplication of effort and disruption to companies by utilizing a common questionnaire and the establishment of a shared computer database. In the pilot scheme in Sheffield, Foley's research shows how the consortium has reduced the level of company visits whilst enhancing the quality of data available to the parties involved.