Does greater devolution lead to higher productivity? What are the effects of local autonomy, local government quality and fragmentation on productivity?

This event looked at new OECD analysis from across Europe, on how cities with good government quality and local autonomy but low ‘horizontal fragmentation’ tend to be the most productive. It addressed the questions; Where do UK cities and large towns stand on this measure? And what does this mean for cities and central government policy as they aim to level up local economies and get all parts of the UK meeting their potential?

Speakers:

• Rudiger Ahrend, Head of Economic Analysis, Data and Statistics Division, OECD
• Alexandra Tsvetkova, Economist/Policy Analyst at OECD
• Tony Travers, Visiting Professor in LSE Department of Government, Director of LSE London

The event was chaired by Andrew Carter, Chief Executive at Centre for Cities.