Thriving, surviving, and declining: industrial jobs and the geography of deindustrialisation in twentieth-century England and Wales

Thesis

This thesis uses official data and documentary sources to provide a new history of deindustrialisation processes in England and Wales after the First World War. Across three core sections it shows that deindustrialisation occurred in stages, some of which spanned decades, and manifested itself in several ways across places. These forms of deindustrialisation, which were contingent on a number of economic factors, offered different prospects for working-class people and places.

The thesis is structured over three core chapters. Chapter 1 uses census data to map the reorganisation of the industrial economy between 1921 and 1971. It shows how the timing of deindustrialisation varied across places as a result of the turnover of activities within the industrial sector. It also draws attention to the decline of the major cities, which shaped the deindustrialisation of the decades that followed.

Chapter 2 uses a newly-harmonised dataset to examine the second phase of deindustrialisation, which began after 1971. The elimination of industrial work proceeded unevenly; the chapter therefore presents a typology under which different deindustrialisation processes can be grouped. The typology draws a distinction between struggling `declining' places and relatively more successful 'thriving' and 'surviving' post-industrial economies. Analysis of a number of indicators demonstrates that the type of deindustrialisation a place experienced was a key determinant of its long-term outcomes.

Chapter 3 uses individual-level data from the British Household Panel Survey to examine deindustrialisation from the perspective of individual workers. The chapter assesses the degree to which sex, education, qualifications, and parentage determined whether or not people became industrial workers, and – through the use of a novel approach to comparing heterogenous careers – examines their career trajectories. It shows that changing sectors involved considerable risks for individuals’ socioeconomic status.

Authors: Evans, JR

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-av8xyn1jg
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: structural change; BHPS; employment; manufacturing; urban-rural shift; standard industrial classification
• Subjects: Economic history; Regional economic disparities; Economic geography; Social history; Deindustrialisation; Industrial policy