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In an attempt to promote efficiency and consumer choice, many governments in Europe have in recent years required social housing organisations to be more market-orientated and competitive. Competition, however, is being discussed and implemented without any detailed examination of what is meant by the term 'competition' outside a conventional 'market', as is the case in social housing. It is not clear what exactly is meant by competition and this paper therefore focuses on the question of how competition can be operationalised and how it can be measured in practice. This paper concentrates on social housing in England and the Netherlands: two countries where competition in social housing is an issue. These two countries also have different social housing models. For both countries, we build on an evaluative framework based on the economic concepts of rivalry, risk and choice and then analyse the data to establish whether competition can be measured in a convincing way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews Bernard Barker's claims that ‘the pendulum is swinging’, in relation to school markets and competition. Barker's arguments are complex in this regard. He rejects markets and competition as a means of improving outcomes and equity, but supports some of the system features that are often associated with marketisation, such as school autonomy and differentiation. With this in mind, the article reviews the underpinning ideology and design of market and competition policies in England under different governments since 1988, as well as the evidence on the impact of these policies. It argues that the pendulum is not swinging away from markets and competition, although ideological shifts are discernible in the policies of the new Coalition government. One reason for this is that the evidence for the damaging effects of marketisation is not nearly as conclusive as Barker suggests. The pendulum is, however, swinging away from central regulation, including from regulatory mechanisms to protect against the worst effects of market policies on social justice. This may accelerate demands for a progressive post-market alternative, although the article concludes by pointing to the difficulties in practice of reconciling the values of equity, opportunity, social mobility, choice and community within system design. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper draws parallels between the market trend in the English NHS and Polanyi's (1957) The Great Transformation: The political and economic origins of our time, Beacon Press: Boston (originally published in 1944 in the United States as The Great Transformation, Rinehart: and Co: New York, and in 1945 in England as Origins of our time, Gollancz: London) account of how the rise of markets provokes a self-protective counter-reaction that tries to re-embed economic relations in social relations. We report findings from a qualitative study of NHS contracting, which examines the recent move to harder-edged contracts with greater use of financial penalties and incentives. In practice, use of these techniques tended to be confined to nationally-mandated sections of the contract rather than emerging from local bilateral agreements, and when things went wrong the parties relied more on cooperative behaviour than on the provisions of the contract to find solutions. Making the current contracting system work depended more on existing relational networks than on the incentive structures created by recent 'marketisation' initiatives, but the inability of the market to evolve as expected has encouraged policy makers to publish plans for further radical reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors describe the incremental approach to the marketisation of the English National Health Service (NHS) since the introduction of an 'internal market' in 1990 until the 2010 White Paper, 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS', and the subsequent Health and Social Care Bill published in January 2011. The introduction of a competitive market for a universal, tax-financed health system requires fundamental changes in regulation in order that market bureaucracy can be substituted for direct management. The components of reform are insufficiently captured by the framework of hierarchies and networks in new public management theories of decentralisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the commercial exploitation of ethnic diaspora-based networks. Using qualitative data from four London minority-owned enterprises, diaspora-based linkages in the UK and beyond are examined and the implications for policy discussed. We conclude that, under certain conditions, diaspora-based networks enable higher levels of business competitiveness. They facilitate access to resources and markets by minority-owned businesses, particularly for those supplying ethnic goods and services,. Exploiting diaspora-based networks effectively depends not only on business owners' capabilities and motivations to do so but also on diaspora structures—their size, geographical and sectoral locations—and the resources and opportunities they make available to business owners. Conversely, in certain circumstances, engagement with diaspora-based networks can constrain business competitiveness, particularly where this restricts the resources and markets available. Diaspora-based networks are potentially important influences on business competitiveness but do not negate the importance of class resources such as property, education and skills in processes of business formation and development among minority groups. The implications for existing theory and for policy are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Market-based reforms of state schooling systems have been justified by the benefits anticipated from encouraging greater inter-school competition in local schooling markets. Promoting increased school choice and competition by comparison were seen as a means of stimulating greater allocative, productive and dynamic efficiency in the schooling system. However in England, school effectiveness research suggests that once adjustment is made for pupil characteristics, variations in pupil attainment levels between secondary schools are small and unstable over time. Some evidence suggests that differences in pupil attainment by subject within schools are larger, indicating the potential to raise attainment levels by increasing choice within schools. In this paper we seek to extend the school choice debate by examining the rationale for increasing competition within secondary schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a competitive market, the exit of those suppliers who cannot offer an attractive product at an attractive price is seen as desirable. However, the consequences for consumers when their own supplier leaves the market in an unplanned or disorderly way may be undesirable. Exit regimes exist in regulated markets to ensure that consumers are not unduly harmed by these disorderly exits. This article considers the scope for an exit regime in the English higher education sector. It particularly considers how consumers (students) can be protected from the disorderly closure of their higher education providers, whilst retaining the principle of competitive neutrality, or the ‘level playing field’. The article also proposes actions which the sector could take in advance of Government regulation, in order to develop the form of exit regime which will give the greatest protection to students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across Europe, and beyond, there have been shifts towards reducing state intervention in ‘middle range’ governance spaces, such as regions, and attempts to devolve decision making to the most appropriate (local) level. Consequently, sub-regional scales of working have increasingly been promoted as a means of securing greater spatial equity and economic competitiveness. But whilst significant attention has been placed on the impact of new sub-regional governance arrangements on urban areas, there has been little consideration of the nature and effectiveness of such arrangements on rural areas. This article seeks to address this gap in knowledge through specific reference to multi area agreements (MAAs)—a new form of sub-regional governance in England—and their impact on rural territories. We conclude by considering the wider implications for rural spaces that may emerge as new structures of sub-regional governance are formalized. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As migrants have traditionally settled in the larger towns and cities, research into economic integration has in the past focused on urban centres. Evidence from recent migration flows is that migrant settlement is far more dispersed both nationally and regionally, requiring a shift in focus to small town and rural communities (STRCs). Studies exist on the Portuguese migrant presence in urban areas across Europe but little research has been carried out into their integration into and impact on STRCs. It will be argued that the Portuguese represent an interesting case study because they are a diverse, multinational group that had become an established community in East Anglia prior to the influx of East Europeans from the post-accession states during the early 2000s. It is argued that tensions exist within as well as between the immigrant nationalities. The focus is on the labour market in East Anglia and recurring issues such as declining job opportunities and growing competition for employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented on further education (FE) in England and related issues such as socioeconomic factors in educational policy, the state's interest in preparing skilled employees for business needs, and social justice in the FE sector. Policy rhetoric concerning competitiveness in a global economy, the development of a vocational education and training system that is based on market demand, and the failure of a supply-led model for the development of human capital are discussed.

The article focuses on the perspective of political economists Nassau W. Senior and John Stuart Mill regarding the structure and performance of the water industry in London, England. Senior used the example of competition among London's water companies in illustrating the importance of entry for increasing output and limiting price increases. On the other hand, Mill used the example of London water companies to illustrate the discussion in his principles of monopolistic public utilities.