Henry Overman

Henry Overman 14th October, 2022 Investment Zones: who benefits? 14th October, 2022 With initial bids due today, I have used this week’s blog series to set out some of the decisions facing local and national government as they negotiate over Investment Zones. My first blog made the case that ‘everyone’ should be submitting an expression of interest: IZs offer big tax breaks, funded by central government, in exchange for planning relaxations that are yet to be defined.

Recorded live at CEPR Paris Symposium 2022: Inequality isn’t just between individuals, but between regions too. Henry Overman explains to Tim Phillips why these disparities exist, why they are so persistent, and whether regional policies to “level up” left-behind places will succeed.

The government’s levelling up agenda seeks to reduce disparities across the UK. Policies to boost economic performance will need to attract workers and firms away from London and the South East and improve opportunities in ‘left-behind’ places – but success depends on significant investment. The government’s levelling up White Paper focuses on 12 missions that aim to reduce regional disparities in the UK.