Thread by @blowhound

1/ Do investment zones hold the key to unlocking the UK’s growth problem?

#InvestmentZones #Freeports

ukandeu.ac.uk/do-investment-…

2/ First, they were very underwhelming in terms of total job creation. The Treasury predicted that after five years they would have created 54,000 jobs. The actual figure was less than one third of this.

3/ Second, the majority of these jobs were in low skilled occupations. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing in itself. But they did not contribute to changing the make-up of a struggling economy – they brought in (a little) more of the same.

4/ Third, and reflecting their predecessors, they encouraged the displacement of jobs. Modest estimates are that 34% of the jobs ‘created’ were actually moved from elsewhere.