{"id":102192,"date":"2025-05-15T00:50:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T00:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/102192\/"},"modified":"2025-05-15T00:50:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T00:50:12","slug":"regional-inequalities-remain-stubbornly-persistent-across-northern-ireland-say-economists-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/102192\/","title":{"rendered":"Regional inequalities \u2018remain stubbornly persistent across Northern Ireland\u2019 say economists \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Regional inequalities around investment, productivity and earnings \u201cremain stubbornly persistent and in some cases are widening\u201d in the north, according to economists.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">And without a decisive shift toward long-term, locally led investment strategies, economic disparity will continue to undermine the region\u2019s broader prosperity and social cohesion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">A report by the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre (EPC), entitled \u2018Delivering Balanced Regional Economic Growth in Northern Ireland\u2019, finds that while headline gaps in employment and skills indicators have improved in recent years, core disparities in productivity, wages, and job quality endure.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Regional inequalities around investment, productivity and earnings &quot;remain stubbornly persistent and in some cases are widening&quot; in the north, according to economists. And without a decisive shift toward long-term, locally led investment strategies, economic disparity will continue to undermine the region&#x2019;s broader prosperity and social cohesion.\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/RFOMPYPSDFDOTLXJDDN4TTLCW4.jpeg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"448\"\/>Regional imbalances still persist in Northern Ireland, according to economists at Ulster University (maesarin &#8211; stock.adobe.com) <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The study examines historical and current policy responses to regional imbalance, offering a sweeping analysis of the economic performance of all 11 council areas across the north.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishnews.com\/news\/business\/bid-submitted-to-demolish-one-of-northern-irelands-oldest-pubs-for-housing-development-UE7TUN7JJ5AYBAKBUIWD7MK474\/\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Bid submitted to demolish one of Northern Ireland&#x2019;s oldest pubs for housing development\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1747270211_622_BJ5KG43YFVHHDBHWLNYI6CYVUA.jpeg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"450\"\/><\/a><a class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishnews.com\/news\/business\/former-hotel-with-links-to-1916-easter-rising-goes-on-market-for-22m-3A5EIMVLAFEW3EZHXXPC2ZANWM\/\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Former hotel with links to 1916 Easter Rising goes on market for &#xA3;2.2m\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2DDR72OCHVEUXBXZK4DK4G426Y.jpg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"450\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">And its lead author Dr Eoin Magennis, principal economist at the EPC, insists there should be \u201cbold place-based policies\u201d to deliver better balance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">He said: \u201cWhile we\u2019ve seen pockets of progress, the economic gap between different parts of Northern Ireland is wide \u2013 and in some cases, widening. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cOne-size-fits-all solutions haven\u2019t worked. Place-based policy \u2013 designed with and for local communities \u2013 is the way forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Among the report\u2019s key findings are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Belfast remains the leading region\u202fin terms of gross value added (GVA) per capita and business births, but many of its economic gains are shared with commuter belt areas.<\/li>\n<li>Productivity gaps persist, with Belfast and Mid Ulster outperforming, while areas such as Derry City &amp; Strabane and North Down &amp; Ards lag behind.<\/li>\n<li>Employment rates have improved across all council areas, particularly in Mid Ulster and Newry, Mourne &amp; Down, but\u202feconomic inactivity remains <\/li>\n<li>Skills and industry mix\u202fcontinue to drive local employment trends, emphasising the need for targeted support in lagging regions.<\/li>\n<li>Real wage growth has been uneven, with a risk of renewed divergence in income across the region.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The data shows that while employment gaps between council areas have narrowed, disparities in productivity and workplace earnings have persisted or worsened. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The report also highlights a mismatch between job opportunities and local skill levels in some regions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The report (available to download at ulster.ac.uk\/epc) lists these six policy priorities to foster balanced regional growth:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Investment in regional infrastructure and connectivity, particularly in underdeveloped and rural areas.<\/li>\n<li>Expansion of education, skills, and innovation hubs\u202foutside major cities.<\/li>\n<li>Creation of place-based business development clusters, tailored to each region\u2019s strengths.<\/li>\n<li>Empowerment of local governance structures\u202fwith adequate resources to drive economic development supported by coherent central policies.<\/li>\n<li>Cross-border cooperation\u202fto leverage opportunities with the Republic of Ireland and the rest of the UK.<\/li>\n<li>Monitoring, reporting, evaluation and adaptability to ensure accountability and continuous improvement based on clear regional performance metrics.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Regional inequalities around investment, productivity and earnings &quot;remain stubbornly persistent and in some cases are widening&quot; in the north, according to economists. And without a decisive shift toward long-term, locally led investment strategies, economic disparity will continue to undermine the region&#x2019;s broader prosperity and social cohesion.\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/XH63BBBF7BHYJGS6DMF4YXO6WY.jpg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>Dr Eoin Magennis, principal economist at the Ulster University EPC <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Dr Magennis added: \u201cGood regional policy is smart economics. Unlocking the potential of all our places is not just possible, it\u2019s essential. To both efficiency and growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Last October Stormont\u2019s then-economy minister Conor Murphy launched new economic strategy to tackle regional imbalance in the north which included setting aside a \u00a345 million fund for councils to action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Regional inequalities around investment, productivity and earnings \u201cremain stubbornly persistent and in some cases are widening\u201d in the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102193,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[47185,11246,12098,51,9468,33477,8182,188,2814,37211,47186,47187,18821,3647,5427,47188,474,3240,47189,11245,1197,47190,47191,26053,7898,2725,7900,26682,28460,7036,1144,47192,47193,16757,14836,47194,34001,2443,47195,47196,47197,1882,31522,16289,16,15,47198],"class_list":{"0":"post-102192","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-adjudication","9":"tag-analysis","10":"tag-balance","11":"tag-business","12":"tag-chart","13":"tag-code","14":"tag-court","15":"tag-crime","16":"tag-data","17":"tag-decision","18":"tag-decree","19":"tag-diagram","20":"tag-dispute","21":"tag-economics","22":"tag-equity","23":"tag-fairness","24":"tag-finance","25":"tag-financial","26":"tag-gavel","27":"tag-graph","28":"tag-investment","29":"tag-judgment","30":"tag-jurisdiction","31":"tag-jurisprudence","32":"tag-justice","33":"tag-law","34":"tag-legal","35":"tag-legislation","36":"tag-litigation","37":"tag-market","38":"tag-northern-ireland","39":"tag-ordinance","40":"tag-overlay","41":"tag-penalty","42":"tag-price","43":"tag-proceeding","44":"tag-punishment","45":"tag-regulation","46":"tag-rule","47":"tag-scales","48":"tag-statute","49":"tag-trading","50":"tag-trial","51":"tag-tribunal","52":"tag-uk","53":"tag-united-kingdom","54":"tag-verdict"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}