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Emerging in the mid-2010s, the Foundational Economy has been heralded as ‘a compelling counter-project against neoliberalism’ and ‘an alternative pathway … [for] progressive political renewal’. Grounded in a review of cross-disciplinary debates, this paper introduces the concept of the Foundational Economy and places it in relation to heterodox geographic theories of socio-economic development such as the ‘social economy’ and ‘diverse economies’ literature. Whilst there are clear overlaps, the concept of the Foundational Economy can be distinguished through its commitment to (a) a zonal perspective; (b) a focus on maximalist social innovations; and (c) the reconstitution of citizenship. In radical combination, it is argued that the lens of the Foundational Economy facilitates ‘a trenchant critique and denaturalization of current conditions, in tandem with creative explorations of the political economy of alternatives’. The paper concludes by reflecting on current oversights and future research trajectories for Foundational Economy research.

This report, based on 42 interviews with workers, trade unionists and other stakeholders, examines the phenomena of low-paid and precarious work in Sheffield. It focuses on the factors driving the prevalence of such work (including the links with welfare reform), the experiences of workers in seven distinct employment sectors, as well as trade union responses to the challenges of organising in these areas. The report also includes a major addition of a postscript focused on the impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic and how this relates to the wider findings of the study.

This report considers productivity in the retail sector, with emphasis on Greater Manchester in particular. It includes an overview of the characteristics of the sector, covering components such as demographics, skills levels and earnings. As a significant component in the drive for higher levels of productivity skills levels amongst the staff in the retail sector are considered, with particular emphasis on career progression. The role of pay is considered along with recommendations to increase productivity in Greater Manchester. The report concludes with a summary of barriers to productivity in the retail sector, best practice interventions as well as an overview of the wider policy agenda.

The concept of localism and spatial delineation of the ‘city region’ have seen a renaissance as the de facto spatial political units of governance for economic development. One articulation of this has seen the creation of Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) to potentially enhance Wales’s poor economic performance and secure democratic forms of social cohesion. City regions have been vaunted as the ‘spatial imaginary’ for engendering economic development, but there are considerable state spatial restructuring tensions. The paper discusses these by following the development of city-regionalism in Wales and specifically the unfolding of the ‘elite-led’ CCR City-Deal.