Oligopolistic power and regional development disparities: a conceptual framework and implications for the UK Levelling Up agenda

The two dominant approaches to regional disparities in the post-WWII period (the ‘old’ and ‘new’ paradigms) did not study market structures and market power. This article argues that this is a serious blind spot. It builds on a long, albeit somewhat neglected, tradition of thought and presents an ‘oligopolistic’ analytical framework to explain regional disparities. This framework puts the power of oligopolistic firms and the operation of oligopolistic markets at the centre of the analysis and argues that they create nearly insurmountable obstacles for the development of poorer regions. The framework is applied to analyse the UK Levelling Up agenda, arguing that both the agenda and most of those who have scrutinised it are neglecting oligopolistic power, and that therefore their suggestions fall short of what is needed to tackle regional disparities.