The first section of the paper surveys the evidence relating to the hypothesis that the inner city acts as a nursery for new manufacturing firms and shows that there is little direct confirmatory evidence. The second and third sections report on two research studies of new firm foundation in London. In the first study it is shown that few manufacturing firms have been set up in inner London in recent years, the majority being in the 'inner city industries' of printing, clothing, etc. In the second the founders of new manufacturing firms, not in the inner city industries, were located and interviewed to find out the reasons for their choice of location. The two studies together tend to refute the inner city nursery hypothesis.
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