Greater Manchester Independent Prosperity Review

The Greater Manchester Independent Prosperity Review was established to undertake a detailed and rigorous assessment of the current state, and future potential, of Greater Manchester’s economy. Ten years on from the path-breaking Manchester Independent Economic Review (MIER) (opens in a new tab), it provides a fresh understanding of what needs to be done to improve productivity and drive prosperity across the city-region.

In March 2019, an ambitious agenda was established and the report, put together by the review panel, pulls together the four strands of analysis, findings from the comprehensive evidence review, devolution progress report, and the call for evidence, and international comparative analysis undertaken in collaboration with the Organisation for European Cooperation and Development (OECD) and European Commission.

One year on, a group of distinguished economists including Professor Diane Coyle of Cambridge University and Bloomberg’s Stephanie Flanders have said that the Government’s Northern levelling up agenda will only be effective if it supports people employed in the sectors hardest hit by the Covid-19 crisis and helps to improve people’s health and well-being.

The Prosperity Review’s findings and recommendations underpin the ambitious Local Industrial Strategy that Greater Manchester has developed jointly with national Government. The review informs the actions of local and national decision-makers from across the public, private, and voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors in driving forward Greater Manchester’s future productivity and prosperity.

The Government has signalled it will focus on major infrastructure projects as it attempts to rebalance the UK economy and the reviewers conclude that Greater Manchester has world class sectors that can accelerate economic growth with substantial and long term innovation funding from Government. They also make clear the North’s health and skills inequalities must also be addressed if the country is to be truly levelled up.

This analysis is set out in an update to the Greater Manchester Independent Prosperity Review issued in response to the coronavirus pandemic, including new analysis from the Resolution Foundation.

Independent Prosperity Review: Reviewers' Report

Read the Reviewer's Report (opens in a new window)

Download the Reviewer's Report (PDF)

Download the Independent Prosperity Review: One Year On report (PDF)

The Review Panel

Independent of local and national government, the Prosperity Review was led by a panel of six experts:

Professor Diane Coyle: Bennett Professor of Public Policy, University of Cambridge, and Chair of the Greater Manchester Independent Prosperity Review

Stephanie Flanders: Head of Bloomberg Economics

Professor Ed Glaeser: Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics, Harvard University

Professor Mariana Mazzucato: Professor in the Economics of Innovation, University College London

Professor Henry Overman: Professor of Economic Geography, London School of Economics, and Director of the What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth

Darra Singh: Government and Public Sector Lead at Ernst and Young (EY)

First row: Professor Diane Coyle: Bennett Professor of Public Policy, University of Cambridge, and Chair of the Greater Manchester Independent Prosperity Review; Stephanie Flanders: Head of Bloomberg Economics; Professor Ed Glaeser: Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics, Harvard University.

Second row: Professor Mariana Mazzucato: Professor in the Economics of Innovation, University College London; Professor Henry Overman: Professor of Economic Geography, London School of Economics, and Director of the What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth; Darra Singh: Government and Public Sector Lead at Ernst and Young (EY)

The panel was responsible for commissioning and overseeing studies in four areas, providing a thorough and cutting-edge analysis of key economic issues affecting the city-region:

Analysis of productivity taking a deep-dive into labour productivity performance across Greater Manchester, including a granular analysis of the ‘long tail’ of low-productivity firms and low pay;
Analysis of education and skills transitions, reviewing the role of the entire education and skills system and how individuals pass through key transitions;
Exploration of the city region’s innovation ecosystems, national and international supply chains and trade linkages; and sources of global competitiveness, building on the 2016 Science and Innovation Audit; and
Work to review of the infrastructure needs of Greater Manchester to raise productivity, including the potential for new approaches to unlock additional investment.

Live stream recorded by Resolution Foundation

Baseline Reports

Progress With Devolu tion (PDF)

Update of progress on the implementation of Greater Manchester's devolution deals, highlighting key achievements and barriers.

Evidence Review (PDF)

Baseline report covering progress since the Manchester Independent Economic Review (MIER) and summarising Greater Manchester's existing evidence base across the five foundations of productivity identified in the national Industrial Strategy White Paper (Place, People, Ideas, Business Environment and Infrastructure).

Summary Reports

Productivity and Pay Research Summary (PDF)

Summary Report bringing together the central themes and wide-ranging findings from the technical reports, detailed below, on productivity and pay and has been developed to inform the reviewers’ recommendations.

Innovation and Global Competitiveness Research Summary (PDF)

Summary Report bringing together the central themes and wide-ranging findings from the technical reports, detailed below, on innovation and global competitiveness and has been developed to inform the reviewers’ recommendations.

Education and Skills Research Summary (PDF)

Summary Report bringing together the central themes and wide-ranging findings from the technical reports, detailed below, on skills and employment and has been developed to inform the reviewers’ recommendations.