THE PERFORMANCE OF BUSINESS-SERVICE FIRMS IN PERIPHERAL REGIONS - AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON BETWEEN SCOTLAND AND NOVA-SCOTIA

In this paper a comparative analysis of the competitiveness and perfor mance of business-service companies in two peripheral regions, Nova Sc otia and Scotland, is presented. Several dimensions of performance are investigated for four industries: market research, management consult ancy, advertising, and graphic design. Value added per person is one t hird higher in Scotland compared with Nova Scotia, and Nova Scotian of fices derive a much higher proportion of their turnover from governmen t and public-sector contracts. In general, however, a very consistent picture emerges of the relative position of business services in the t wo regions. Possible demand-side and supply-side causes of such differ ences are reviewed and potential policy responses considered.