Globalisation, regions and the state: Exploring the limitations of economic modernisation through inward investment

Abstract

Over the past 10 years or so, the UK has witnessed intense interregional competition for a small number of large inward investment projects. These projects, examples of foreign direct investment (FDI) from Far East Asia, have been relied upon by nation-states as panaceas to the economic problems being experienced within older industrial regions. Central government has adopted a non-interventionist approach to FDI and has rather encouraged regional-level institutions of governance to provide innovative and competitive packages of aid to the prospective investors through the creation of customised spaces. By relying on this FDI, local and regional-level institutions within the UK have sought t..