There are pronounced differences in the productivity of local economies in England and Wales, with some areas thriving whilst others struggle with a legacy of de-industrialisation. This article relates productivity differentials to industry and occupation structure. Doing this facilitates the extrapolation of a metric for ‘productive employment base’ at local authority level. Using this measure, progress is examined for local authority areas in England and Wales during the period 1998–2012. Maps are produced of local areas making greatest gains. These are termed ‘emerging productive economies’.
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