Anchoring the social economy at the metropolitan scale: Findings from the Liverpool City Region

Thompson, Matthew ORCID: 0000-0002-5691-4851, Southern, Alan ORCID: 0000-0003-3661-3442 and Heap, Helen (2020) Anchoring the social economy at the metropolitan scale: Findings from the Liverpool City Region Urban Studies: an international journal for research in urban studies, 59 (4). pp. 675-697. ISSN 0042-0980, 1360-063X

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Abstract

This article revisits debates on the contribution of the social economy to urban economic development, specifically focusing on the scale of the city region. It presents a novel tripartite definition – empirical, essentialist, holistic – as a useful frame for future research into urban social economies. Findings from an in-depth case study of the scale, scope and value of the Liverpool City Region’s social economy are presented through this framing. This research suggests that the social economy has the potential to build a workable alternative to neoliberal economic development if given sufficient tailored institutional support and if seen as a holistic integrated city-regional system, with anchor institutions and community anchor organisations playing key roles.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	social economy, anchor institutions, city-regionalism, local economic development
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	12 Jan 2021 11:31
Last Modified:	28 Feb 2026 23:42
DOI:	10.1177/0042098020972654
Open Access URL:	https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/0042...
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3110800
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