Across the world, policymakers are re-evaluating their approach to economic policymaking. Concerns over stubborn inequalities, the climate crisis, and the weak resilience of traditional economic policy frameworks to economic shocks, has led many governments to consider the benefits of ‘inclusive growth’.

Scotland has been in the vanguard of such thinking, supported in part by international organisations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Scottish Government define ‘inclusive growth’ as – “growth that combines increased prosperity with greater equity; that creates opportunities for all; and distributes the dividends of increased prosperity fairly”.

But the policy agenda remains nascent.

Aspects of inclusive growth have been challenged both by those who argue that a greater focus on growth is needed to support ambitions on delivering greater equity and by those arguing, instead, that growth should be dropped entirely as a policy objective.

There are also debates over what outcomes should be included when measuring ‘inclusive growth’ and how to manage difficult trade-offs that may emerge between different aspects of the policy agenda. At the same time, questions over how to operationalise such a framework across localities that look radically different to each other – both geographically and on measures of social and economic outcomes – have risen to the fore.

Researchers at the University of Glasgow sought to examine the implementation of inclusive growth tools and methods through the lens of practitioners working to deliver better economic outcomes in four quite different local authorities in Scotland – Glasgow, North Ayrshire, Aberdeen and Edinburgh.

Edinburgh (Scotland’s capital) is a dynamic economy but with a growing gap between rich and poor; Glasgow is a large post-industrial city with child poverty rates are as high as 41% in some neighbourhoods); Aberdeen has for decades proclaimed to be the energy capital of Europe but faces major restructuring challenges as oil and gas enters its twilight years; and North Ayrshire is a locality, without a major urban area, that has struggled to attract investment and jobs.

The research finds different stories of how inclusive growth has been applied. Whilst there is a common intent for application, in the case of Scotland, there has been significant variation in how the agenda has been adopted and progressed. For North Ayrshire, a small authority with persistent economic development challenges, the inclusive growth agenda was readily adopted. Aberdeen, in contrast, came to focus on inclusive growth (at least the affiliation) later.

The concept of inclusive growth remains ‘fuzzy’. On the positive side of things, the fuzziness of the agenda, as set out by national government, may have inadvertently provided openings for local claims on national government for funding. On the other hand, fuzziness has meant that it has struggled to gain traction in certain circles and has been overtaken by newer policy agendas such as ‘wellbeing’ in terms of political rhetoric and buy in.

A key reflection is that instilling practices to reflect inclusive growth may be likened to turning around an oil tanker; it takes time. Initial successes come along the way, such as through fair work and inward investment, however, the pace of change is variable in urban and regional policy, and there is concern for whether there will be the political will - both at local and national levels - to support the agenda through points of uncertainty and challenge. The Scottish regional contexts present a story of slow incremental policy learning and change.

Finally, a key political fault line laid bare in our assessment of inclusive growth reflects the tensions between local and national government. Indeed, Scottish policymaking shows that the delicate balance between subsidiarity, local autonomy and policy cohesion is an area that remains contested.

As our case studies starkly illustrate, inclusive growth does, and should, mean quite different things to a successful city vis-à-vis a region with greater structural challenges, and indeed for the divisions of prosperity found within urban and regional contexts.

Read the full paper, The promises and pitfalls of operationalizing inclusive growth (2022), by Dr David Waite and Professor Graeme Roy in Regional Studies journal

More Information 

Professor Graeme Roy's biography 

Dr David Waite's biography 

First published: 26 June 2023

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