THE COMPETITIVENESS OF BUSINESS SERVICES AND REGIONAL-DEVELOPMENT - EVIDENCE FROM SCOTLAND AND THE SOUTH EAST OF ENGLAND

This paper presents a matched-pairs analysis of the competitive perfor mance of business service companies in Scotland and the South East of England. Value added per person is one-quarter higher in the English f irms and a significantly higher proportion of them (49 per cent) have introduced a new service during the previous five years compared with 34 per cent of Scottish businesses. The latter were also more likely t o function as multi-service companies reflecting the greater demand in Scotland for a more generalised service offering, The English service businesses also achieved a much greater degree of export orientation. The paper reviews various supply- and demand-side causes of the perfo rmance differences and the implications of potential policy responses are considered.