Regional development policy
Research Topic
Language: English
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Research problems linked to this topic
- How much of an obstacle is cyber-security in the development of the UK’s digital trade capacity?
- Which technologies are most likely to disrupt the pattern of global trade and investment in the coming decades and what impact will they have on productivity growth?
- How important is geography, culture and language for trade in services, and how does this compare to that of trade in goods?
- How are changes in technology impacting the tradability of different services, the cost of trade in services and the ways in which services are traded?
- How can shipping and freight data be used to complement our understanding of the Rotterdam effect and trade flows international hubs?
- Which methods best evaluate of a country’s regions and sectors of dynamic comparative advantage?
- Which criteria are most effective in establishing long-term sectoral growth potential?
- What further data sources could help us build a more complete picture of the investor journey, including who is involved?
- How are emerging digital services and technologies likely to affect the future of exports and supply chains across sectors?
- How can comparative advantage inform future trade and investment interests across regions and sectors? What are the limits of comparative advantage here?
- What impact do non-bank financial institutions providing export finance have on national financial markets?
- To what extent does evidence support the case for selective export promotion policy?
- What are the common costs of entering new markets for UK small and medium sized enterprises and what are the success rates in recovering these costs through new sales?
- To what extent is export support for large businesses effective in providing opportunities for small businesses in the UK supply chain? How regionally specific is this relationship?
- What is the impact of large exporters on the UK economy beyond exports (for example. national and regional growth such as employment, investments, R&D, productivity and GVA)?
- What is the productivity premium on exporters versus non-exporters in the UK?
- What are the wider impacts associated with exporting, beyond firms directly affected? How does this vary by business size, export experience and sector?
- How can specific provisions in trade agreements be effectively evaluated in terms of benefits to developing countries?
- What impact would the introduction of carbon border taxes have on regional trade flows?
- What specific trade and investment policy interventions are most effective in creating inclusive growth for both UK and developing countries?
- How can we best model the impact of trade policy at a sub-national level (for example, by specific groups, sectors, and regions)?
- What research techniques are most effective in evaluating how trade policy drives prosperity?
- What is the role of inward and outward investment in economic performance indicators, for example national and regional growth, employment, and macroeconomic stability?
- Which methods and modelling approaches can best be used to inform trade dispute cases? How can the harm caused by incompliant measures and associated retaliation rights best be estimated?
- Where non-tariff measures behave as fixed costs to trade, how can these be most effectively incorporated in trade modelling?
- How can we quantify the impact of good regulatory practice?
- How can we quantify the impact of individual barriers on trade and investment?
- What bilateral or multilateral engagement is most effective in preventing country-to-country disputes from being lodged?
- How can various data sources inform how we identify, address and resolve market access barriers relating to goods, services and foreign investment?
- To what extent are intellectual property rights enforced where there is infringement, and how practices differ across sector and business size?
- Does international regulatory cooperation help reduce regulatory barriers to trade in innovative products and services?
- How can we improve modelling of UK port activity and the impacts of possible policy measures on the maritime sector?
- How can artificial intelligence, machine learning, simulation, agent based modelling and other leading data science techniques contribute to better understanding of trade and investment patterns?
- How can finance, logistics and other data be brought together to accurately track the ordering and delivery of emergency supplies through supply chains including medical supplies?
- How can geospatial analysis and mapping help monitor trade patterns during recovery and target business support?
- What challenges might developing economies face when engaging with the international economy that developed economies might not? How can the UK best support trade recovery in developing economies?
- How can we best evaluate the impact of DIT’s campaigns and events on businesses?
- How can policy measures best encourage and support businesses to recover and return to international trade post-crisis, given differing attitudes to risk?
- What different patterns can be observed in trade and investment flows following exogenous shocks (such as COVID-19), compared to endogenous shocks (such as a financial shock) to the economy?
- How do non-UK businesses and publics perceive the UK as a trade and/or investment partner?
- To what extent can investment promotion optimise UK export markets? What are the limits to intervention under specific conditions of market failure?
- Innovation clusters: Where are UK RDI clusters and what are the associated skills and investment in these clusters?
- How can we best establish which UK research and technology organisations are undertaking work for overseas companies, and which have operations outside of the UK?
- How important is transport to trade flows? How might international trade evolve and how might this affect our transport network requirements?
- Using regional and local studies, what is the impact of export finance services on localised markets? How does export finance services support regional growth and development?
- How do UK businesses compare with non-UK businesses in their use of trade finance and credit insurance?
- What are the best practices for the design and evaluation of export finance products and services?
- What are the global trends developments in the variety and scale of export finance products and services?
- How can the pathways to decarbonisation of transport be evaluated against the UK’s international climate ambitions?
- How much has trade increased/decreased global emissions, through improving production processes and accentuating market failures?
- What is the impact of increased trade and investment on poverty reduction in developing countries?
- What data and methods can improve estimation of intra-regional trade within the UK?
- How do we increase societal resilience to flood and coastal erosion risk?
- To what extent do international trade expos help build the reputation of the UK and its regional strengths as a destination for international projects?
- Which domestic policy levers can best address the externalities of trade reform, including impact on and adjustments costs to specific groups, sectors, and regions?
- What approaches can best measure injury to domestic producers from imports, in the context of targeting trade remedies? How can the direct and wider impacts of trade remedies be measured, including across sectors, regions and supply chains?
- To what extent are trade remedies effective in protecting domestic production and employment? How regionally specific is this relationship?
- To what extent are trade remedies – applied under WTO agreements and bilaterally as part of free trade agreements – effective in achieving their stated objectives. How do they affect trade flows (including where jurisdictions adopt different duties)?
- How can we better measure interactions of regulations and how they adapt in response to innovation?
- To what degree do barriers to procurement affect UK export and investment performance?
- To what extent does the use of international standards particularly facilitate trade with developing, low and middle-income countries?
- How can we value non-FTA agreements (including the Government Procurement Agreement and mutual recognition agreements), in terms of total impact?
- How can we encourage the development and dissemination of innovations in the agri-environment sector? What are the right conditions for success?
- How can networks and communities of practice be used to support knowledge sharing and foster collaboration amongst regulators? How can strategic coordination and partnership help unlock the value of standards for innovation? How can regulators work with Freeports to overcome the regulatory challenges of developing, testing and applying new ideas and technologies?
- How can trade agreements effectively incorporate the interests of regulatory agencies?
- How can we evaluate economic impact of customs and trade facilitation procedures following trade agreements?
- How can we best evaluate economic impact of including sectoral annexes to chapters in trade agreements?
- In the event of a trade shock, how can data requirements for taking rapid decisions be met using real time indicators (RTIs) and non-traditional sources of data? How can data science evaluate and improve the quality and reliability of RTIs?
- What can international best practice tell us about using data to manage the shock and recovery?
- What long-term trade opportunities and risks may arise from changes in the use of technology and ways of working resulting from COVID-19?/
- What measures limit international trade restrictions on exports (including healthcare supplies) and investment resulting from global shocks?
- How can we assess the longer-term structural changes to the global trading system following a shock, including the assessment of the long-term impacts of short-term responses to COVID-19?
- How can levels of civil society and of pride in place in a local area be increased?
- What is the fragmentation impact of disparate data standards and regulations being developed globally?
- How can forecasting methods inform long-term total factor productivity growth?
- To what extent will the UK’s main trading partners adopt a more protectionist stance? How could this affect trade negotiations going forward
- How can we best evaluate how businesses receive DIT’s communications, in terms of awareness, appeal and clarity?
- What is the best way to track and measure the value of DIT’s service interventions?
- What impact have technological and geopolitical changes had on global investment trends and has this altered investor sentiment?
- What is the relationship between easing and removing foreign investment restrictions and export performance bilaterally?
- What impact do regulatory barriers have on trade in services?
- What does the evidence show was more or less effective about the particularly intense engagement between local and national government during the pandemic, and what we have learnt about the key enablers developed between the tiers of government in this last period? Which of these would most helpfully be sustained in future (e.g. data sharing)?
- What is the evidence of the efficacy of different planning systems across the UK and internationally? Are there particular countries that exemplify the role land use planning can play in serving and supporting communities? How have outcomes been selected, measured and assessed?
- What can we learn from regimes where planning and regeneration powers have been devolved from central government towards regions and local stakeholders?
- How do delays in obtaining finance affect international buyers’ confidence in UK exporters?
- How does well-being matter in the context of levelling up? What are the most effective levers for government (central and local) to affect well-being? How does well-being interact with other place based interventions such as housing and regeneration?
- What is the evidence that culture-led regeneration is effective?
- What does the evidence show are the factors that create the greatest potential to build agglomeration economies that benefit local areas and residents in question? And what are the key elements that bring agglomeration benefits– housing, transport, local skills, R&D and business dynamics? Are there costs to agglomeration that that worsen outcomes for residents and neighbouring areas?
- To what extent can the private sector deliver investment promotion together with DIT?
- How can we evaluate additionality of government support in investment promotion?
- How can advances in communication technologies be used to inform our understanding of trade in digital services?
- How do businesses adapt their delivery of services between the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) 4 Modes of Supply? To what extent are the four GATS 4 Modes of Supply compliments or substitutes?
- What are implications of advances in communications technologies for trade in services?
- How can the categorisation and measurement of trade in services by the modes of supply be developed and optimised?
- What impact do restrictions on data flows and data localisation requirements have on trade?
- How can open source data, big data and data science techniques inform us about the emerging trends in trade across different sectors?
- How can we best evaluate the barriers to trade in services and their impact on trade flows?
- How can we assess how much value is created in each stage of a global supply chain and how do “smile curves” vary across products and sectors? For example, how can we estimate the value of intellectual property within global supply chains?
- To what extent do barriers to goods trade affect services trade and vice versa?
- What is best practice in developing the international classifications underpinning trade measurement – including product codes for goods, classifications for services and their relationship to sectors?
- How can the Trade in Value Added (TiVA) dataset inform our understanding about regional or global supply chains, including re-manufactured goods?
- How can we effectively evaluate countries’ relative technology readiness levels (TRL), by technical area, sector and overall strategy? To what extent does the commercial, regulatory and legal environment impact on TRLs? To what extent can market access restrictions to some sectors have wider impacts on trade within other sectors?
- What factors make countries and regions attractive as destinations for investment in high potential, early stage, technology-based entrepreneurs?
- How can various data sources inform how we identify and target support to large businesses which are high value or volume UK exporters?
- How can we best measure the impact of large exporters at a sub-regional level (for example, agglomeration effects, supply chain effects)? How can we measure the structure and interactions in the supply chain in exporting sectors?
- How can we evaluate additionality of government support in trade facilitation?
- How can we isolate the impact of export finance on trade in specific goods and services?
- What further data sources could help us build a more complete picture of the exporter journey?
- How much does UK businesses’ ability to offer financing options for their products affect their likelihood of exporting and competitiveness?
- What is the persistent of exporting businesses in a market? What characteristics impact longevity of exporters in a market?
- How does export finance help in developing an integrated supply chain?
- To what extent do business strategies include exporting as a means of achieving business growth? How does this vary by business characteristics?
- What is the effect on wages, employment and survival on UK exporters versus non exporters?
- With growing preference for greener investments, how should sustainability goals be balanced with ensuring all sectors can continue to access financial markets?
- What factors have historically been important to identify large businesses which are high value or volume exporters? To what extent are these factors sector specific?
- How can we effectively measure the long-term sectoral impacts of shifting consumer preferences for greener goods?
- What measurement approaches should be used to evaluate the impact of market access barriers on sustainable development?
- What measures could help minimise the risks of de-forestation, biodiversity, and habitat loss in producer countries, without creating excessive trade distortion?
- How important are imports from developing countries for UK supply chains and what role can they play in diversification of supply chains?
- What can comparative advantage tell us, in the context of production shifts arising from climate change?
- In terms of business environment, which characteristics of developing markets should be considered when helping businesses engage in exporting activity?
- What are the sub-regional implications of future trade agreements and trade policy more broadly
- How can we evaluate the performance of trade policy in delivering regional growth and international development?
- What conclusions can be drawn from patterns of anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard activity in previous business cycles? What lessons emerge from COVID-19 and recovery?
- What are the wider impacts associated with trade remedy measures, beyond firms directly affected?
- What is the capacity for increasing exports in those parts of the country where the levelling up agenda is particularly focused on?
- What role does trade play in variation in sub-regional growth productivity and employment in the UK?
- How useful is comparative advantage when identifying and evaluating opportunities across UK regions and sectors?
- What are the most effective dispute settlement mechanisms within trade agreements? What scope is there for innovation?
- How can insights from behavioural economics and nudge theory inform business engagement with DIT products and services?
- How can the impact of cross-chapter provisions on dispute settlement mechanisms in trade agreements be effectively evaluated?
- How can we codify and measure the impact of non-regulatory barriers to trade, such as exchange rates, language, cultural, and geographical barriers?
- What insights does the academic literature provide on the economics of trade remedies, and issues that have arisen in recent World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes, including subsidies and market distortions?
- How can we best evaluate the impact of non-tariff, regulatory measures to trade in goods, including technical barriers to trade and sanitary and phytosanitary measures?
- To what extent does the use of voluntary standards facilitate or restrict trade? How does this vary by country and sector?
- How can we best evaluate the trade restrictiveness of different categories of non-tariff measures (at both bilateral and multilateral levels, across goods, services and investment)?
- How have different sectors (aerospace, financial services, telecoms), sizes of business, regions and the self-employed been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, and how might they be impacted differently by the recovery phase?
- How can we measure the market access restrictiveness of a country from a UK perspective?
- How does protection of intellectual property by patents, trademarks or design rights affect trade flows in across industries and business sizes?
- What are the economic costs faced by businesses across different sectors, in relation to conformity assessment?
- To what extent does regulatory divergence affect bilateral trade flows?
- To what extent can market access barriers in some sectors have wider impact on trade in other sectors?
- To what extent do the impacts of market access barriers have varying effects according to the size of firm? How does this vary by the type of barrier?
- What modern provisions most effectively address emerging technologies, emerging data flows and digital trade?
- How can we measure the impact of a trade agreement on value added trade? How does this differ by sector?
- How can we understand the value of provisions on mutual recognition of conformity assessment in trade agreements?
- Which elements of trade agreements have historically had the greatest impact on trade flows?
- How should the predictive accuracy of CGE models be assessed?
- What are the long-term impact of provisions that bind in existing market access and reduce uncertainty?
- To what extent are the provisions in trade agreements utilised in practice? Which sectors or businesses are most likely to use them?
- How effective have existing trade agreements been in reducing the trade restrictiveness of non-tariff measures?
- How can global demand shocks (including for emergency and medical supplies) be best modelled, accounting for uncertainty?
- How can data flows be rapidly improved, promoting data sharing across research, government and industry to allow secure collaboration?
- In response to a trade shock, what innovative approaches to support data collection, dissemination and application can be taken, without burdening businesses and frontline staff?
- What can we learn about sequencing the levels of intervention and openness in an economy following a shock? How can economic theories, such as transition economics, inform this?
- How will COVID-19 affect global technological adoption rates and what will that mean for disruptions to global trade and investment patterns?
- How can government policy best foster supply chain resilience, and incentivise businesses to develop supply chain resilience strategies?
- How effective is trade and investment policy in creating economic security and resilience that safeguards against shocks? What can we learn from comparing different country responses?
- How can the UK best uphold the global rules-based system to support trade recovery?
- What effect does COVID-19 have on business models and supply chain structure? How does the renewed focus on shortening or regionalisation vary by sector?
- Integrate fisheries monitoring in a systems approach to manage and maintain sustainable productivity. Integrate marine planning systems to protect habitats and species, and reduce the industry’s costs to enable economic development
- What are possible governance and finance options for flood and coastal erosion risk management?
- How can different mixes of ‘responses’ – such as regulations, taxes (for example polluter pays), subsidies (for example public money for public goods), and spatial planning – impact the delivery of environmental, economic, and social outcomes at different spatial scales?
- How can local governance best be coordinated with national?
- How will different groups of society, particularly in rural communities, be affected by changes associated with the move towards Net Zero and the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan? How can positive effects be adopted more widely and negative impacts be mitigated?
- How can we balance devolved responsibilities with the need to avoid a weakening of national guidelines/ standards?
- What is the UK’s long-term requirement for natural resources from global markets? Which resources are exposed to production/supply risks owing to geopolitical, macro-economic, pandemic, or environment factors and what are the likely impacts of change to the UK economy?
- How do we minimize the risk of plant and animal disease import to the UK as traded products change, and as the UK goes through a period of significant change in its international trading arrangements post-EU and post COVID-19?
- How do we better consider and adapt to the effects of climate change at regional and local levels, to develop a better understanding of conflicting demands?
- What drives spatial inequalities in relation to CSY’s policy responsibilities?
- What are the benefits of increased levels of civil society participation and of pride in place, overall and in more localised areas?
- What are the knock-on effects of lower levels of civil society and pride in place both overall and in local areas?
- What are the best ways to measure business perceptions of risk in relation to exporting post COVID-19?
- How can innovative forms of commissioning and effective cross-sector collaboration improve outcomes at local levels?
- What interventions can support communities to tap into and take ownership of social investment at local and “hyper-local” levels?
- What are the regional disparities across CSY’s policy responsibilities?
- How do issues related to CSY’s policy responsibilities affect pride in place and social capital at the local level?
- How might COVID-19 shape wider social attitudes towards trade and investment?
- What are the main barriers of the UK's bilateral trade with partner countries? How do non-tariff and tariff barriers impact trade?
- What principles should be used to delegate responsibilities to local communities, and how can these areas be empowered to deliver?
- How could the WTO dispute settlement process be improved to better serve all member states?
- What is the relative value of light touch, digital or automated support services in foreign investment support versus intensive face-to-face services?
- Local benefits/patterns: What is the local impact of different RDI interventions?
- How has COVID and EU exit affected the movement of goods between Ireland, the UK and the rest of the EU? Are these impacts short or long term?
- How can we improve coherence of UK wide data to be able to maximise learning from devolution, including the benefits of experimentation and innovation?
- What can we learn from international models of local social infrastructure, local governance and devolution of power to communities?
- What wider factors do we need to consider to ensure that the geography of adjustment to a net zero economy works to the advantage of ‘left behind’ places?
- How can restrictions on trade in services be effectively measured across sectors, given data limitations?
- How is the strategic regeneration of large areas best managed over the long term?
- How can we best characterise the attitudes and behaviours of UK exporters, to inform our understanding of the internationalisation process for SMEs?
- How do the public’s attitudes towards globalisation vary, and what drives these differences?
- How do the public view the trade-offs that trade agreements bring, in relation to consumer choice, prices and employment by sector? How do these perceptions vary by partner country?
- How are perceptions of international trade affected by the inclusion of sustainability and welfare provisions in trade agreements?
- What factors affect public perceptions of trade and how does this differ by specific groups, sectors and regions?
- To what extent does the UK public understand trade policy and global trade patterns? What are their main sources of information?
- How can we use novel datasets to understand capital investment needs across the UK, including by sector and region?
- What methods are best to isolate the impact of one service provided by the DIT service from others we provide?
- Which statistical methods can help reconcile foreign investment and trade asymmetries between partner countries?
- Which countries excel at facilitating the commercialisation and export of new technologies and why?
- How does investment and export promotion engage with varied supply chains, given small and medium enterprise internationalisation?
- How can barriers to foreign investment (including business procedures) be most effectively identified and addressed?
- How can we effectively measure levels of ‘servitisation’ and ‘servicification’? [footnote 1]
- What is the potential of ledger technology for the measurement of financial services trade?
- What is international best practice to define and measure trade in services? This may include digital trade, e-commerce and cross-border data flows.