‘Institutional Thickness’: Local Governance and Economic Development in Birmingham, England

Andrew Coulson and Caterina Ferrario

International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 2007, vol. 31, issue 3, 591-615

Abstract: Abstract This article uses the concept of institutional thickness to describe key features of the local governance of economic development. For this purpose, a methodology for the empirical assessment of institutional thickness is developed and applied to the case of Birmingham, England. The results from this empirical analysis are threefold. First, they make it possible to draw some conclusions on the role that local governments can play to promote local economic development. Second, they suggest that institutional thickness is a useful organizing concept for analyses of the local governance of economic development. Finally, they demonstrate the value of a verifiable and replicable methodology for the detection and measurement of local institutional conditions and of governance arrangements. Résumé Cet article s'appuie sur le concept d'épaisseur institutionnelle pour décrire les aspects essentiels de la gouvernance locale en matière de développement économique. Pour ce faire, on a développé une méthodologie afin d'évaluer empiriquement l'épaisseur institutionnelle et de l'appliquer au cas britannique de Birmingham. Les résultats de cette analyse empirique sont de trois ordres: d'abord, ils permettent de tirer des conclusions sur le rôle potentiel des gouvernements locaux dans la promotion du développement économique local; ensuite, ils suggèrent que l'épaisseur institutionnelle constitue un concept d'organisation utile pour analyser la gouvernance locale du développement économique. Pour finir, ils démontrent la valeur d'une méthodologie vérifiable et reproductible si l'on veut repérer et mesurer les situations institutionnelles locales et les dispositifs de gouvernance.

Date: 2007
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