Urban Studies

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here for more information

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by O'Farrell, P.N.
Right arrow Articles by Moffat, L.A.R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Urban Studies, Vol. 30, No. 10, 1629-1652 (1993)
DOI: 10.1080/00420989320081631
© 1993 Urban Studies Journal Limited

The Competitiveness of Business Services and Regional Development: Evidence from Scotland and the South East of England

P.N. O'Farrell

Department of Economics, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK

D.M. Hitchens

Department of Economics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 INN, UK

L.A.R. Moffat

Department of Business Organisation, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK

This paper presents a matched-pairs analysis of the competitive performance of business service companies in Scotland and the South East of England. Value added per person is one-quarter higher in the English firms and a significantly higher proportion of them (49 per cent) have introduced a new service during the previous five years compared with 34 per cent of Scottish businesses. The latter were also more likely to function as multi-service companies reflecting the greater demand in Scotland for a more generalised service offering. The English service businesses also achieved a much greater degree of export orientation. The paper reviews various supply- and demand-side causes of the performance differences and the implications of potential policy responses are considered.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 International Regional Science ReviewHome page
S. S. Athreye and D. Keeble
Specialized Markets and the Behavior of Firms: Evidence from the United Kingdom's Regional Economies
International Regional Science Review, January 1, 2002; 25(1): 38 - 62.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 European Urban and Regional StudiesHome page
B. Hermelin
Location of Professional Business Services: Conceptual Discussion and a Swedish Case-Study
European Urban and Regional Studies, July 1, 1998; 5(3): 263 - 275.
[Abstract]