عنوان

The political economy of regional development :

Number

TLets354568

Title Proper

The political economy of regional development :

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Geddes, M. N.

Title Proper by Another Author

The Scottish Highlands and the Highlands and Islands Development Board

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

University of Sussex

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

1984

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

Ph.D.

Body granting the degree

University of Sussex

Text preceding or following the note

1984

Text of Note

The thesis utilises the concepts of Marxist politicaleconomy, drawing especially on recent work on geographicaluneven development and the capitalist state, to examine'the regional question'. It focusses on a specific region,the Scottish Highlands, and on the role of a contemporaryregional development agency, the Highlands and IslandsDevelopment Board.Part I of the thesis presents an account of the long-termhistorical evolution of the Scottish Highlands, drawinglargely on secondary sources. The concept of articulationof modes of production is used to explain the historicalmarg inalisation of the Highlands. In a detailed analysisof the twentieth-century evolution of Highland economy andsociety, the central theme is the relation between capital,local society, and the state, showing how the Highlands hasbecome a 'state-dominated region'.Drawing on this historical context, Part II of the thesisis concerned with one particular state agency, the HIDB.In this Part, the analysis rests on primary sourcemater ial: especially the information produced by the HIDBand other state agencies, but also the local press andinterviews. A critique is developed of the conventionalideology of the state and of reg ional development, throughan analysis which relates the form and functions of theHIDB to the processes of production and social reproductionunder capitalism. In this context, a comprehensiveevaluation is undertaken both of the structure of the HIDB,and of all the major aspects of HIDB policy, from theprovision of financial assistance, and lts growth centreand land policies, to the development of community cooperatives.This enables the real nature, scope and limitsof the regional development practice of the state to beindicated.The thesis concludes by outlining some of the implicationsof the analysis, in a brief discussion of the contemporarypolitics of Highland development.

Political science

Geddes, M. N.

University of Sussex

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y