Placing the Foundational Economy: An emerging discourse for post-neoliberal economic development

Abstract

Emerging in the mid-2010s, the Foundational Economy has been heralded as ‘a compelling counter-project against neoliberalism’ and ‘an alternative pathway … [for] progressive political renewal’. Grounded in a review of cross-disciplinary debates, this paper introduces the concept of the Foundational Economy and places it in relation to heterodox geographic theories of socio-economic development such as the ‘social economy’ and ‘diverse economies’ literature. Whilst there are clear overlaps, the concept of the Foundational Economy can be distinguished through its commitment to (a) a zonal perspective; (b) a focus on maximalist social innovations; and (c) the reconstitution of citizenship. In radical combination, it is argued that the lens of the Foundational Economy facilitates ‘a trenchant critique and denaturalization of current conditions, in tandem with creative explorations of the political economy of alternatives’. The paper concludes by reflecting on current oversights and future research trajectories for Foundational Economy research.

Labour Productivity in a Central and Eastern European Secondary City – Evidence from Regional and Firm-Level Data

“…public sector or restaurants) that serve social needs. We do not believe that the public sector has a crowding-out effect with regard to private sector economic performance, indeed, a well-functioning public sector, or in a broader sense, a 'foundational economy' (see Bentham et al 2013 andRussell et al 2022) is necessary for the whole regional and local economy to work efficiently (Birch and Cumbers 2007). Moreover, increasing productivity in the foundational economy would result in more regionally balanced growth than an exclusive focus on frontier firms that are highly concentrated spatially.…”

Whatever happened to municipal radicalism?

“…Of particular note are ‘foundational economy’ and ‘grounded city’ approaches, which refocus development on those economic sectors foundational to human flourishing and societal functioning (Engelen et al, 2017; Foundational Economy Collective, 2018; Russell, Beel, et al, 2022; Schafran et al, 2020; Thompson et al, 2020). The two domains comprising the foundational economy—the ‘material infrastructure’ of water, energy, food, transport and housing; alongside the ‘providential services’ of health and education—are conceptualised as ‘collective reliance systems’ without which human settlements would cease to function (Schafran et al, 2020).…”

“…Municipal radicals used the then substantial roles of local government-as major employer, investor, producer and purchaser of goods and services-as powerful levers for generating, multiplying and circulating collective wealth (Benington, 1986), prefiguring community wealth building today (Manley & Whyman, 2021). The core concept of socially useful production anticipated contemporary debates around the 'everyday', 'overlooked' and 'foundational' economies (Russell, Beel, et al, 2022)-foregrounding goods used in common, such as laundrettes and childcare, forming the fabric of social infrastructure and collective provisioning-before being submerged beneath the tide of neoliberalism, churned up in the swell of a frothy new urbanism in thrall to the creative class (Peck, 2011).…”

The role of the foundational economy: The case of two regional centres in Central and Eastern Europe.

“…Considering that future economic development is more and more dependent on the qualitative contribution of production factors instead of extensive growth, as explained in the introductory section, we do not believe that the public sector has a crowding-out effect with regard to private sector economic performance. Indeed, a well-functioning public sector, or in a broader sense, a "foundational economy" (see Bentham et al, 2013 andRussell et al, 2022) is necessary for the whole regional and local economy to work efficiently (Birch & Cumbers, 2007).…”