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Interest in higher education institutions (HEIs) as instruments for development has increased in recent years. The main objective of this paper is to address the contribution of HEIs to development through their missions, models, and challenges. With this purpose, we perform a historical analysis and characterise higher-education systems through the perspective of university models and missions, noticing relevant aspects regarding the evolution of this institution over time, as well as the transformations undergone. We also consider the main challenges that current higher education systems face in the 21st century. As methodological approaches, we carry out a literature review complemented by a comparative analysis based on data from the higher education systems of ten European countries. The findings show that HEIs can contribute to development through their missions, which are related to the models of higher education. Their first mission (teaching) contributes to improving human capital and attracting highly qualified people to their regions; the second mission (research) improves scientific knowledge which can foster innovative activities; and the third mission (community service) acts as a link between research and business, including patents, business incubators, and collaboration agreements. We also conclude that the challenges of higher education in the 21st century can be categorised essentially in three main areas: (1) globalisation and massification of higher education, as well as the internationalisation of HEIs' missions and diversification of the educational supply to attract new students; (2) new technologies related to the digitalisation of teaching and distance learning; and (3) higher education entrepreneurship, showing the importance of university-company relationships. This paper provides a global setting for a reflection on the role of HEIs in the 21st century, given their connection with society and the need for a more effective contribution to socio-economic development.

Knowledge is an essential ingredient for economic development, growth and gaining a competitive advantage. In order to produce novel and valuable knowledge, it is advantageous, perhaps vital, to rely on insights gained from prior research efforts. Those knowledge spillovers (KS) provide the rationale for sustained economic growth and produce unique place-based knowledge spaces. Due to the spatial embeddedness and stickiness of knowledge, most investigations mainly pay attention to the localized nature of KS, but what about those spillovers from other jurisdictions, or perhaps even from across the globe? To analyse the role played by international KS, the present study investigates to what extent international KS shape the evolution of the UK science and technology space. The first step involves creating knowledge spaces following the methodology outlined by Kogler et al. (2013; 2017) for the period 2006-15. Subsequently, we are following the paper trail of publications and patents developed by UK authors and inventors to depict to what degree international KS in specific science and technology domains have contributed to the production of novel knowledge in the UK. The results indicate that four out of five citations made in publications and patents in the UK are the works of authors and inventors residing elsewhere. This has important policy implications considering recent tendencies to curtail trade and the free movement of labour, all of which contribute to the diffusion of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK government's 'Industrial Strategy' is a product of a Conservative party in power, coming to terms with a particular set of economic and political circumstances. In contrast, international bodies have commended long-term concepts of 'green growth' rather than conventional industrial development, whilst individual local authorities in the UK and elsewhere have been working towards economic regeneration policies that are both environmentally aware and also related directly to local communities. Taken together, the UK industrial strategy, the reports of international agencies and the efforts of individual local authorities raise the question as to the possible shape of a national strategy that reflects ideas of green growth and applies these ideas to processes of urban regeneration, urban development and planning. This paper gives a brief outline of such a strategy, suggesting that green growth must deal with towns and cities, both as causes of pollution, carbon emissions and resource consumption and as places where people should be able to enjoy a good quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discursive analysis of Great Britain's Conservative Party 2011 Green Paper "One World Conservatism: A Conservative agenda for international development." It offers a comparison of the conception of development in that paper with the 1997 Labour Party White Paper which launched the development of the Department for International Development (DFID). The discourse used to describe Britain's role in promoting global development and reducing poverty is examined.

The article is a reaction to the European Commission's White Paper on the EU's future released on 1 March 2017. It presents and reviews the fundamental scenarios of next evolution of the Union involved in the Paper. The following five scenarios - "Carrying on", "Nothing but the single market", "Those who want more do more", "Doing less more efficiently" and "Doing much more together" - are appreciated. The scenarios shall create a frame and routing of debates on the EU's future by 2025. Attention is also dedicated to some weaknesses and deficiencies of the White Paper, and to some other reflections and aspects of the next EU27. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the first half of this paper we develop a perspective on the role of "boldness" in explaining gender differences in thinking and attitudes. We apply this analysis to evidence from Australia, the USA and the UK in relation to economics at school and university levels. In the second half we present the results of a study of over 1000 15-17-year-olds in UK secondary schools. On the basis of the gender differences revealed in these data and our preceding analysis we offer some implications for learning and teaching.

In this last paper in a series of four, we will enquire into key developments affecting economic growth in the near future, consider potential restructuring effects that current and future economic events could cause and survey suggestions from literature for long-term sustainability of growth trends. Discussing climate change, COVID-19 economic recovery, automation, and future growth with a view to global development, we explore where growth may take economies, and how we may foster growth in a rapidly changing international economic landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on the richness of recent contributions in the field, this paper presents a state-of-the-art CNN analysis method for automating the recognition of standardised building components in modern heritage buildings. At the turn of the twentieth century manufactured building components became widely advertised for specification by architects. Consequently, a form of standardisation across various typologies began to take place. During this era of rapid economic and industrialised growth, many forms of public building were erected. This paper seeks to demonstrate a method for informing the recognition of such elements using deep learning to recognise 'families' of elements across a range of buildings in order to retrieve and recognise their technical specifications from the contemporary trade literature. The method is illustrated through the case of Carnegie Public Libraries in the UK, which provides a unique but ubiquitous platform from which to explore the potential for the automated recognition of manufactured standard architectural components. The aim of enhancing this knowledge base is to use the degree to which these were standardised originally as a means to inform and so support their ongoing care but also that of many other contemporary buildings. Although these libraries are numerous, they are maintained at a local level and as such, their shared challenges for maintenance remain unknown to one another. Additionally, this paper presents a methodology to indirectly retrieve useful indicators and semantics, relating to emerging HBIM families, by applying deep learning to a varied range of architectural imagery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The possibility of the UK's withdrawal from the European Union has never been more realistic and upto- date since joining the European Communities (EC) as it is today. The UK is facing a unique situation. At present, this depends solely on the capabilities of European and British government officials, who negotiate the terms of withdrawal and future cooperation between the two entities. The main goal of this paper is based on the British - Slovak trade relations development analysis to figure out their impact within the Brexit consequences on the future Slovak economy and its current status in international economic relations. The paper also provides a basic overview of Brexit process and its possible impact on the EU's further functioning. Basic data will be drawn from generally accepted institutions, evaluating the UK and Slovak trade and economic performance. To accomplish this goal, methods such as analysis and comparison to illustrate the UK-Slovak foreign trade development, synthesis and logical deduction to discuss the Brexit impact on Slovak economic environment in the future are to be used; data from scientific and professional publications, periodical and non-periodical press. The paper presents the results of an empirical analysis, which showed that because of the size of economic relations between Slovakia and the United Kingdom and the number of goods and services being exported to the UK, the «hard» Brexit will be very unfavourable for Slovak foreign trade due to the possible tariffs being imposed. The research empirically confirms and theoretically proves that it can cause a significant weakening and slowdown in the Slovak economy. Either way, the upcoming Brexit process, that is the withdrawal of Great Britain from the European Union, would have a major impact not only on British, European but also on the world economy. The impact of Brexit on Slovakia's economy will not only be in reducing the possible growth of the economy, but also in employment and price increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the mutual disruption and support of economic growth and health improvement in the last 500 years in the UK.Design/methodology/approach The paper is a general review and it compares institutional development, public policy, technological advances and scientific discoveries in economic growth with those in health improvement.Findings The paper finds the co-existence of slower economic growth and less increasing life expectancy from 1541 to 1871 and that of faster economic growth and rising life expectancy from 1871 to 2001. It is organized health improvement that effectively propelled economic growth in the time span of 1871-2001.Research limitations/implications The findings may contribute to the literature on mutual enhancement between economic growth and health improvement.Practical implications The findings may also provide implications to the policy makers how important organized health improvement is to economic growth.Social implications The findings show that when UK Government was leading in organized health improvement for the population, economic grown got propelled into a faster lane.Originality/value This paper is among the first to unveil that a socially responsible government has permanent impact on the paths of both economic and social growth. It has value to other researchers attempting to understand the mutual disruption and support of economic growth and health improvement in the historical UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the implementation of the rule by the Advisory Council on Public Records under the provisions of the Public Records Act of 1967 in Great Britain. Most contemporary historians saw the First World War as a historical watershed from which time onwards the activity and potential role of governments in influencing British economic and social development were much enhanced. As a result, particular areas of historical research, such as diplomatic history and historical studies of social and economic policy, were given enormous stimulus. For all historians access to records is essential. New records are almost always welcome and any restriction on access to information is generally deplored or regretted. In the initial euphoria at the release of so much new material comparatively little attention was paid to the status of the public records as research evidence. In 1970, however, doyen of British interwar historians, the late G. L. Mowat, referred to a part of the new material with characteristic shrewdness.

The UK's automotive industry has been one of the ‘star performers’ of the UK economy in recent years – unlike most other manufacturing sectors. Output has increased by over 60 per cent since 2010 and there has been over £8 billion worth of investment in the industry in the past five years. The industry supports some 800,000 jobs in the UK. It is seen as having benefitted from EU membership. So what might Brexit mean for the UK automotive sector, and its workers? This paper considers short-run impacts, before turning to the impact of uncertainty on foreign direct investment inflows and then the nature of a possible trading relationship. Some brief reflections on policy implications round off the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies local economic impacts of the increases in trade barriers associated with Brexit. Predictions of the local impact of Brexit are presented under two different scenarios, soft and hard Brexit, which are developed from a structural trade model. Average effects are predicted to be negative under both scenarios, and to be more negative under hard Brexit. The spatial variation in negative shocks across areas is higher in the latter case as some local areas are particularly specialised in sectors that are predicted to be badly hit by hard Brexit. Areas in the South of England, and urban areas, are harder hit by Brexit under both scenarios. Again, this pattern is explained by sector specialisation. Finally, the areas that were most likely to vote remain are those that are predicted to be most negatively impacted by Brexit [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism has become a modern global phenomenon and contributes to the development of the society in many possible ways. The visible impact of the tourism development not only involves the economic factors but also develop the environmental, cultural and social aspects of life and well-being. Matter of fact, because of this various benefits arising from the tourism development, it has been able to gain a very important and significant status in the community and many countries are recognising tourism as their priority in the economic development. Urban tourism is a concept within the tourism and it becomes one of the main functions of the cities and its importance is still growing. Urban tourism locations rich in historic features often serve as a suitable example of urban locations positioned to attract visitors to enjoy the historic and cultural experiences on offer. Focusing on Cambridge, a city in the United Kingdom this paper explored the concept of Urban Tourism with an emphasis on the characteristics and type of visitors to cities and the natural impacts of tourism and also focused on the costs and benefits of urban tourism in terms of economic, social, cultural and environmental considerations. Using different literature from various articles, books, research papers and case studies, this paper identifies if Cambridge is able to retain its culture and identity in spite of its popularity as a tourism destination. This paper presents the results of a theoretical analysis which showed that tourism impacts have largely been well managed in Cambridge and the city has been able to maintain the characteristics and original features of a heritage city. Preservation of architecture, a wide range of entertainment and cultural events, sports and leisure facilities are all well served. The results of this research can be useful in identifying the role of the public and private sector in urban tourism and their impact on local residents and aims to create awareness among organizations relating to the Urban tourism, local residents and government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revisits the UK productivity puzzle using new data on outputs and inputs and clarifying the role of output mismeasurement, input growth and industry effects. Our data indicate an implied labour productivity gap of 13 percentage points in 2011 relative to the productivity level on pre‐recession trends. We find that: (a) the labour productivity puzzle is a TFP puzzle, since it is not explained by the contributions of labour or capital services; (b) the reallocation of labour between industries deepens rather than explains the puzzle (i.e. there has been a reallocation of hours away from low‐productivity industries and toward high productivity industries); (c) capitalization of R&D does not explain the productivity puzzle; (d) assuming increased scrapping rates since the recession, a 25% (50%) increase in depreciation rates post‐2009 can potentially explain 15% (31%) of the productivity puzzle; (e) industry data show that 35% of the TFP puzzle can be explained by weak TFP growth in the oil & gas and finance sectors; and (f) cyclical effects via factor utilization could potentially explain 17% of the productivity puzzle. Continued weakness in finance would suggest a future lowering of TFP growth to around 0.8% p.a. from a baseline of 0.9% p.a. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores concerns over apparent failures to translate the rhetoric of British policy on sustainable development into recognisable and widespread success. After looking at examples of reported problems of policy and implementation, the paper asks whether we are seeing policy failure, institutional failure or a failure of political will. The paper looks at the changing responsibilities of town planners at a time when the delivery of sustainable development is identified as central to their role. But a major point of the paper is that any analysis of policy performance must understand planning as an enduring discipline distinct from any current institutional structure, so that critiques of the current system can be disentangled from critiques of the nature of urban planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews changes over the last 10 years in the governance arrangements and processes involved in sub-national economic development and cross-boundary collaboration. It begins with a summary of the institutional changes in the main countries of the UK, in the dual context of fiscal retrenchment and neo-liberal deregulation. The picture that emerges is one of a confused patchwork in England; incremental modifications in Scotland; and embryonic developments in Wales. This is then contrasted with a range of experiences in other countries, involving wholesale recentralisation and a sidelining of local and regional institutions at one end of the spectrum, to resistance to restructuring through repurposing, increased mutual collaboration and improved management at the other. However, enhanced economic links and benefits do not automatically flow from any particular form of rescaled governance arrangements. As our original article found, the key ingredients are robust and inclusive political and decision-making processes, a suite of appropriate policy instruments and deployment of sufficient resources to ensure that they have an effect. The paper also concludes that a more comprehensive theoretical framework is needed to advance understanding of what lies behind different forms of state governance rescaling, and what makes a given instance more (or less) effective than another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses time series data on UK book sales to establish what correlation exists between the national income of a country and its sales of books. This is tested by comparing series data in real terms for GDP per capita and for various data series for the UK market, including sales invoiced by publishers and point of sale data on consumer purchasing. The first period, from 1985 to 1999, shows a strong relationship between total sales and GDP per capita. In the second period, from 2001 to 2015, the link appears to disappear when we examine invoiced sales from publishers, even before the impact of the 2008 crisis. This is also including the growth of digital sales towards the end of the period. The direct consumer data shows sales tracking GDP until the onset of the financial crisis; thereafter the only trade sector to have kept pace with GDP is children's, and this contrasts with the areas of adult fiction and non-fiction. Have we therefore seen a structural shift in the book market? If we have passed peak book, what has brought about this uncoupling of book sales from economic growth? Factors are considered including changes in retail, competition from other media, and a prioritization of experience over the accumulation of stuff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Former research detected the paradox of high quality formal institutional background accompanied by a low level of social trust in the United Kingdom. The aim of the current paper is to solve this initial puzzle. As traditional social capital literature is not able to explain the low level of trust in this case, we propose a comprehensive approach incorporating the analysis of immigration, integration, inequality and access to justice data to shed light on trust-eliminating mechanisms. The social and economic aspects are examined in the matrix of extra-community network, intra-community trust, radius of trust and need for formal external enforcement. Four factors -- concentrated highly diverse areas, tight communities living next to each other with limited extra-community links, minorities' high exposure to deprivation and limited access to justice -- are identified as the origin of our puzzle. As social trust plays a fundamental role in enhancing economic growth, the trust-impeding mechanisms explored in the current paper shall be of great importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates possible spillover effects of the UK minimum wage. The halt in the growth in inequality in the lower half of the wage distribution (as measured by the 50:10 percentile ratio) since the mid-1990s, in contrast to the continued inequality growth in the upper half of the distribution, suggests the possibility of a minimum wage effect and spillover effects on wages above the minimum. This paper analyses individual wage changes, using both a difference-in-differences estimator and a specification involving comparisons across minimum wage upratings, and concludes that there have not been minimum wage spillovers. Since the UK minimum wage has always been below the 10th percentile, this lack of spillovers implies that minimum wage changes have not had an effect on the 50:10 percentile ratio measure of inequality in the lower half of the wage distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been an increasing focus on the strategic role of universities in stimulating innovation and economic growth, primarily though the transfer of technology. This paper interrogates some of the key aspects of much of the conventional wisdom concerning the transfer of technology and the knowledge exchange process in general. It analyses the results from two unique surveys: a survey of the UK academic community that generated more than 22,000 responses; and a stratified survey of businesses that generated more than 2,500 responses. The results suggest that much of the conventional wisdom concerning knowledge exchange involving academia is too narrowly confined or is misinformed. First, there is an excessive focus in much of the academic and policy discourse on commercialisation and technology transfer—there are many knowledge exchange mechanisms used by academics—these include commercialisation processes but also many other ‘hidden’ connections. Second, the focus on the science base ignores that knowledge exchange involves academics from all disciplines. Third, the preoccupation with improving innovation and business performance tends to ignore that knowledge exchange involves partners from the public and third (not for profit) sectors as well as private sector businesses. Fourth, the main constraints that hinder or limit the knowledge exchange process include a lack of time, insufficient internal capability to manage relationships and insufficient information to identify partners. Problems concerning cultural differences between academics and business, and disputes concerning intellectual property are not prominent. Overall, the paper suggests that the notion of an academic ‘ivory tower’ seems to be a myth as far as the UK is concerned. It also suggests that a strategic focus on strengthening connections between academia and the rest of society may generate long-term benefits, but it will also face challenges and should not distort or divert from the wider foundations of scholarship on which the success of universities are built. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Supply chains directly influence the differentiation and cost of a firm's products and services and its exposure to risk. The purpose of this paper is to use secondary financial data to explore the relationship between supply chain and firm performance by developing a unified proxy for supply chain performance. Design/methodology/approach – Established econometric techniques were used to validate the proxy using a sample frame comprising the annual reports of 117 publicly traded UK manufacturing firms from the period 1995 to 2004. Findings – Increases in change in the proxy lead to an increase in change in the rate of return on capital employed and a change in the rate of cash-to-cash cycle length, both of which are traditional measures of improved supply chain management. Moreover, as the rate of change of the proxy increases, so does enterprise value at a level that is statistically significant, indicating that improving supply chain management practices has a positive impact upon improved firm performance. Research limitations/implications – As annual financial results were used the analysis is at a high level so there is a lack of resolution in identifying discrete causes. The use of annual financial results also means that the research can only take yearly snapshots of firm performance. Practical implications – The paper indicates that the supply chain is an enabler, not an impediment, to superior organisational performance. Originality/value – The originality and value of this paper is that it develops a proxy to explain the relationships between supply chain and an organisation's financial performance taking into account the three imperatives of profitability, liquidity, and productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper re-examines the link between new firm formation and subsequent employment growth. It investigates whether it is possible to have the wrong type of entrepreneurship—defined as new firm formation which leads to zero or even negative subsequent employment growth. It uses a very similar approach to that of Fritsch and Mueller (Regional Studies, 38(8), 961–976, 2004), confirming their findings that the employment impact of new firm formation is in three discrete phases. Then, using data for Great Britain, the paper shows the employment impact of new firm formation is significantly positive in the high-enterprise counties of Great Britain. However, for the low-enterprise counties, it shows that new firm formation has a negative effect on employment. Of the 15 low-enterprise regions, eight are Scottish (of nine Scottish regions in our data base) and three are North East Counties (of four). Our findings imply that having the “wrong type of entrepreneurship” is indeed possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the dynamic relationship between interest rates, inflation and economic growth using a long dataset for the UK. The approach adopted enables us to identify structural breaks in the dynamic system (vector autoregression (VAR)). We find interest rates respond much more strongly to growth and inflation over recent decades, and forecast error variance decomposition analysis indicates there is increasing interconnectedness between the variables in recent years. Economic policymakers need to carefully monitor the linkages between these variables and be prepared to adjust their monetary policy tools when faced with structural changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the processes of cross-national learning in three British planning studies that had an important role in shaping subsequent policies, namely the Barlow Report (1940), the Buchanan Report (1963) and the Rogers Report (1999). It locates the detailed investigation within the wider political science literature of cross-national learning, lesson-drawing and policy transfer. Analysis of the reports shows a shift from European, mainly German, to American referents within British planning, beginning in the 1930s. By the 1960s, there was much greater use of American examples. The paper then notes a shift in the 1990s, with European examples assuming much more significance. However a distinction is made between the expert advice given in the reports and the way this was actually applied at the political and official levels. The paper ends by suggesting other opportunities to consider aspects of cross-national learning, lesson-drawing and policy transfer [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the relationship between various conceptions of sustainable development and the role of land use planning from a Hayekian perspective. The focus of the paper is on a modified version of the Pareto principle and the manner in which this should be used to evaluate liberal market processes, relative to institutional alternatives. Using a comparative institutions analysis the paper develops a critique of the current practice of sustainability planning in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that small island states and territories provide a case for the application of health impact assessments. Their characteristic ecological fragility, vulnerability, relatively small size and limited resources give cause for environmental impact concerns. The tendency, therefore, is for decision-makers and developers to focus upon the economic benefits of proposed development projects while mitigating their environmental impacts, paying little attention to health impacts. The paper defines health status and health determinants and provides a toolkit of guidelines for carrying out health impact assessment in small islands. It discusses the approaches and lessons from the UK and Canada by which assessors in small islands can develop health impact assessment processes within their own contexts. The paper identifies the positive and negative health impacts that assessors should consider in assessing the impacts from tourism. The conclusions point to policy implications and the need for decision-makers to incorporate health impact assessment into their respective island's planning and regulatory frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary. The paper is written to inform public discussion on whether or not statistical legislation for the UK is needed and, if so, on its nature and content. A brief account of the background to the current position is given. The Government's stated intention is to create an ‘independent statistical service’ and a discussion of the meaning of independence in the context of official stat- istics and governance arrangements is provided. Recent international experience is described and the Statistics Acts of some other countries are used to distil the key features of Statistics Acts in other countries. The arguments for and against possible legislation are described. Whether or not a Statistics Act is desirable for the UK depends strongly on the legislation being well framed. There are several key issues on which Parliament would need to develop an informed view and these are set out towards the end of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the historical trends in economic development through the impact of economic depressions and emissions of greenhouse gasses, namely carbon dioxide (CO2). The analysis includes four countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan. The focus, therefore, will be on the impact of two economic crises and their effect on global warming. Temperature changes in the longer period are very often regarded as a result of human activity, which can be measured by the increase of GDP (per capita). The findings indicate that GDP (per capita) parameters cannot be considered as correct measures of human pollution activity. The results show that the long-run temperature can be evaluated with the help of annual average temperatures of the previous four years. The proposed model does not only provide quite satisfactory forecasts, but is very stable with coefficients variables that can make a model more reliable for practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing global competition for manufacturers, interest has grown among researchers and practitioners in the role of advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT) in assisting firms to maintain their competitive edge. To contribute to the debate, this paper presents three case studies, one each from Australia, Britain and Canada, of companies investing in one type of AMT, computer numerical controlled (CNC) machines. The findings reported in this paper draw on the experiences of companies in developed economies but which are geographically dispersed and have different histories of industrialisation. Nevertheless when it comes to implementing AMT, there are far more similarities than differences in their experiences. The message is that for successful implementation of AMT, companies need to ensure that a broad, market driven perspective is taken to these investments, that attention is given to integration across systems and that people issues require as much attention as those directly relating to the actual technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to examine the Wagner's law validity, and whether it can explain the U.K. public spending expansion for the period 1850–2010. According to Wagner's Law, economic development is the key determinant to public sector growth. Accordingly, the public sector grows overproportionally compared to national income when economies develop. We test this hypothesis for the UK. The data covers a period in which the U.K. economy experienced increased economic growth, government spending and met most of the assumption of Wagner's Law (industrialisation, urbanisation, increased population). Furthermore, the long data set ensures the reliability of our results in terms of statistical and economic conclusions. We apply unit root tests, unit root tests with structural breaks, cointegration techniques and the Granger causality test. Our results indicate a presence of a long run relationship between national income and government spending, while the causality is bi-directional, thus we find support for Wagner's and Keynesian hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the dynamics of trade at EU level, using panel data for the 28 Member States (MS). The relationship between GDP, population level, imports and exports for the period 2010-2017 is analyzed. Afterwords we move to a particular case, namely the United Kingdom using data series for the period 2008 - 2017and the same variables as above. In this case, the relationship between GDP, exports and population level will be analyzed. In both cases, the data source is Eurostat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]