Governance Arrangements from a Regulationist Perspective: The Case of Liverpool

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the necessity of considering wider political-economic circumstances when seeking to understand the institutional and governance arrangements in a particular locality. The paper analyses the case of Liverpool, UK, from the perspective of regulation theory and concludes that national government initiatives have permeated local governance arrangements in Liverpool in both direct and indirect ways over the past 35 years. These outcomes reflect a wider approach to the regulation of the economy by the national government. The paper also notes the importance of considering path-dependence in a locality, as well as its wider political-economic context, when undertaking such an analysis of governance arrangements.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Professor Greg Lloyd, Dr Olivier Sykes, Dr Simon Pemberton and the Local Economy anonymous referees for their comments, input and ideas.

Notes

¹ The paper is based upon ongoing ESRC funded research into the economic governance of Liverpool since the late 1970s, and presents the findings of a regulationist reading of this process. Selective use is made below of material derived from interviews with individuals involved in the city's economic governance over this time period.