ANYTHING YOU CAN DO, I CAN DO BETTER: THE IMPACT OF DEVOLUTION ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN POST-INDUSTRIAL AREAS OF SCOTLAND

Abstract

Does devolution bring about economic development in post-industrial areas of Scotland? As traditional heavy industry began to decline in the mid-to-late 20th century in Scotland, many of those who worked within these industries found their employment status in jeopardy. As the century drew to a close, many of those within the communities that once served as the main employment base for such industries found themselves in progressively lower-skilled, lower paying jobs or worse: unemployed. In communities that used to rely on the plentiful employment of traditional industry, a period of decline ensued, with the end point being chronic deprivation for many areas. However, the 21st century represented a new millennium and a new era of hope for many depressed post-industrial communities. The 1998 Scotland Act ceded a level of self-government to Scotland and its newly-formed Parliament. Among other policy areas, the new Scottish Government was responsible for overseeing responsibility economic development in the nation. Therefore, after years of depression and decline under a centralized Westminster Government, would devolution represent an opportunity for redevelopment that many post-industrial communities drastically needed? This thesis embarks on a cross-sectional analysis of a sample of 12 post-industrial communities, comparing each one to the Scottish average. More specifically, the analysis takes the form of a quasi-difference-in-difference estimation, where the 12 post-industrial communities are compared against the Scottish average. A statistically-significant increase in the dependent variables of the 12 post-industrial communities in comparison to the Scottish average, when comparing the post-devolution period to the pre-devolution period, would represent an increase in economic development in post-industrial areas. However, the results of tis thesis show this not to be the case. In fact, the results show that devolution has not has a statistically-significant impact on economic development in post-industrial areas of Scotland.