Spatial adjustments in the Teesside economy, 1851-81

Abstract

This study is concerned with spatial change in a reg, - ional economy during a period of industrialization and rapid growth. It focuses on two main issues : the spatial pattl-rn of economic growth, and the locational adjustments induced and required by that process in individual sectors of the economy. Conceptually, therefore, the thesis belongs to the category of economic development studies, but it also makes an empirical contribution to knowledge of Teesside in a crucial period of the regionts history. In the first place, it was deemed necessary to establish that economic growth did occur on Teesside between 1851 and 1881. To that end, use was made of a number of indirect indices of economic performance. These included population change, net migration, urbanization and changes in the empl. oyment structure of the region. It was found that these indicators provided evidence of economic growth, and evidence that growth was concentrated in and around existing urban centres and in those rural areas which had substantial mineral resources. To facilitate the examination of locational change in individual sectors of the economy - in mining, agriculture, manufacturing and the tertiary industries -, the actual spatial patterns were compared with theoretical models based on the several branches of location theory. In general, the models proved to be useful tools for furthering understanding of the patterns of economic activity and for predicting the types of change likely to be experienced during industrial revolution. Thus, the spatial development of mining and manufacturing on Tee3side was governed by the cost factor. and advantage was generally taker. of any opportunity to reduce costs. Agriculture, however, was more responsive to national than regional conditions, and f--tted the appropriate location model less closely, As would be expected, the central place system expanded in the economically buoyant urban areas, where population and economic growth were concentrated, and contracted in rural districts dependent on farming.