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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Pattanapong Tiwasing, Professor Matthew GortonORCiD, Professor Jeremy Phillipson, Dr Sara MaioliORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
In the face of persistent and widening regional imbalances in economic and social outcomes, the UK Government seeks to ‘level up’ less prosperous communities, reigniting debates on the relationships between geography and business innovation. A key question concerns whether cities provide a more favourable environment for business innovation and exporting. However, the comparative performance of urban and rural Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) within less prosperous regions has received little attention. Using Longitudinal Small Business Survey data, we apply Propensity Score Matching to study urban-rural differences in SME performance in the North and Midlands of England. The findings reveal no systematic, significant differences in goods, service and process innovation or exporting between rural and urban SMEs, suggesting that the emphasis on urban focused growth in the levelling up agenda appears misplaced.
Author(s): Tiwasing P, Gorton M, Phillipson J, Maioli S
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Rural Studies
Year: 2023
Volume: 100
Print publication date: 01/05/2023
Online publication date: 07/04/2023
Acceptance date: 27/03/2023
Date deposited: 14/04/2023
ISSN (print): 0743-0167
ISSN (electronic): 1873-1392
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2023.103007
DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2023.103007
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