Public Sector Relocation Policies in the UK and Ireland

Abstract

Public sector relocation from capital cities to reduce costs and ameliorate regional disparities has been a high profile but little researched government policy. The paper outlines the reasons for the growth of interest in public sector relocation in Europe, and then compares UK and Irish relocation policies. It argues there appears to be a good case for public sector relocation, but there is less agreement on the precise means whereby dispersal should be achieved. The paper highlights successful aspects of public sector relocation policies in the UK and Ireland and indicates areas for further research. Successful public sector dispersal depends on a willingness on the part of government to take a long-term view, and historical evidence suggests it is difficult to move senior posts from the capital.

Institutional geography: effects of physical distance on agency autonomy

“…Yet, the vast literature on agencies has so far not examined the effect of geographical location on agency autonomy. Even though agencification tends to be combined with geographical relocation (Marshall, 2007;Marshall et al, 2005;Faggio, 2019;Saetren, 2016;Trondal and Kiland, 2010), a systematic review of PPA literature (Vogel and Hattke, 2022) suggests that no studies have analysed whether physical distance between the agency and the parent ministry has consequences for agency autonomy.…”

The public sector and regional development: Why public sector employment remains a black box in economic geography, and how should we open it?

“…Consequently, these more mobile activities have been subject to discussions on relocation based on the political aspiration to uphold local employment in declining areas (Marshall et al, 2005; Marshall, 2007). According to Jefferson and Trainor, the relocation of tradable public sector jobs could ‘not only improve national output by utilizing unemployed or underemployed factors of production in the northern regions [of the UK], it can also reduce pressure of demand in southern regions [of the UK] which historically have tended to “overheat” during periods of growth’ (Jefferson and Trainor, 1996: 39).…”

Concepts and Methodologies for Modeling and Simulation

“…Relocation policy, which moves city functions from the centralized city to newly developed city, has been implemented in several countries such as the UK, Ireland, and Germany (Marshall 2007). In Korea, the government recently executed a relocation policy to resolve problems from overpopulation in Seoul, which is the capital of Korea, and achieve the balanced regional development.…”