Executive Summary
Executive Summary
The West Midlands has the foundations of and distinctive advantages for economic prosperity and higher living standards for its residents. However, across a number of metrics—household income, employment, productivity, gross domestic product, poverty and across various types of inequalities, for example—the region’s economy is not at its full potential.
The West Midlands knows what type of growth it wants to realise: inclusive growth. The number one success metric for our theory of growth is to increase gross disposable household income in all places across the West Midlands, underpinned by higher productivity and supporting more of our residents into well-paid, good-quality jobs, in a way that is aligned to the region’s net zero goals.
Our theory of growth articulates what needs to change in order to realise this goal. It understands the West Midlands economy as a complex system and differs from traditional approaches to developing a regional economic strategy. It proposes 12 hypotheses which crystalise the essence of the challenges and opportunities facing the West Midlands that are designed to be tested. Our hypotheses, detailed below, relate to:
- The region’s polycentric economic geography.
- The industrial composition, or ‘sectoral mix’, of the regional economy.
- The quality of business leadership, management and the adoption of technology.
- Research and development activities and their commercialisation.
- The levels of investment in the region.
- The life chances of our residents.
- The skills of our residents.
- The supply, quality and type of housing.
- The region’s transport system.
- Energy infrastructure.
- How the region is perceived and the narratives that are constructed about it.
- The region’s institutions.
As part of the consultation about West Midlands Futures Green Paper, which this report provides the evidence for and economic context to, we want to have a conversation with our local, regional and national partners about the priorities we have proposed across the 12 themes above. This will help the region focus its collective efforts and investments on what is going to shift the dial and realise our vision of inclusive growth.