Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Enhancing productivity in UK core cities Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Core Cities is an association of eleven cities in the UK: Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, and Sheffield. Altogether, Core Cities and their surrounding regions account for around one quarter of the UK population and economy. Given their size and assets, Core Cities have the potential to boost national growth. However, unlike second-tier cities in most other large OECD countries, Core Cities have low levels of productivity by national and international standards. With the right policies and sufficient investment in public transport, housing, skills and other key policy areas, Core Cities could become centres of economic activity that pull their regions and the entire UK to higher productivity levels. This report unpacks the causes of low productivity in UK Core Cities and offers policy recommendations for the local and national level to achieve higher productivity and more inclusive growth.