•Since 2000 Italy’s GDP growth has been below the Euro-area average, and total factor productivity growth has been very weak, and at times, negative (OECD, 2005)•The labour market is highly regulated and inflexible.•Italy has experienced high levels of immigration in recent years,...

•The British economy has been performing well for the last decade, but there is an annual productivity gap of £30 billion between the English average and that of the industrial North (ONS, cited in Northern Way, 2007).•A recent government review has stated that the UK’s skills base...

This report draws together evidence fromseven major cities in European countriesthat are experiencing huge change andtransition from being industrial giants,through major decline in industrialmanufacturing, to recovery. The citieswe study all had a high proportion ofmanufacturing jobs until the...

Europe is a continent of cities with a remarkable history of cultural inspiration, wealth creation, social andpolitical dynamism. But in the late-20th century, many former industrial cities entered a period of steep decline,losing most of their manufacturing jobs and many of their economic...