It’s important not to underestimate the effect cities music or sports scene has, many people would recognise Liverpool ahead of a more economically significant city like Birmingham due to The Beatles. Manchester became the music capital of England in the 80s and continued onwards in the 90’s. Manchester United is the most supported club in the world. Forbes lists it as the second most valuable club behind Real Madrid. The soul of the city based on sports with heavy music influences. One effect is the number of young people who want to live there. Young people want to live and study in a vibrant city; Manchester University and MMU are ranked 1 & 2 in number of applicants for degree courses. There are 3 universities with 87776 students making it one of the most popular cities to study.
Below you can see it has the 4th lowest house prices and 3rd highest wages in the UK. This makes it an incredible desirable location to live. In 2001 it was the 21st most vibrant city in the UK today it now number one making it the most vibrant city in the UK surpassing London. There is a large number of young residents, cheap housing and high wages helping organic growth.
Average Wages 2013 Average House Prices 2013
Types of Employment
The location quotients show that the sectors with relative high levels of employment are all mostly in high end sectors, or hotels and similar accommodation which bring in revenue to the local economy. The sectors all bring in wealth so this is a good sign for Manchester’s growth for the future.
North West Rivalry
“It’s not just about two clubs, it’s about two cities, two unbelievable histories, two clubs that both think they are the biggest in the world, so there is a lot of ego at stake.” Lee Sharpe.
There is a huge rivalry from the two cities of Liverpool and Manchester. Modern day rivalry has been mostly seen on the football field but it’s not always been the case. Historically the two cities thrived in the industrial revolution. The rivalry was ignited when Manchester decided to build a ship canal the largest in the world at that time. This meant Manchester no longer had to pay dues to Liverpool in order to use their port. Now the rivalry has died down as Manchester surpassed its economically and in sporting terms many years ago.
Unemployment graph to the right shows how Liverpool’s unemployment has been higher in modern times. There has been a bit of convergence in recession times but Manchester still leads the way economically.
Conclusion
From this report you can see how Manchester’s economy evolved with technological advances. A thriving industrial city from the industrial revolution evolved unlike other industrial cities. It has a modern advanced economy it has become the most important city in the North-West economically.
The sectors which thrive are high end sectors which generate a lot of revenue as shown in the location quotients on the previous page. It has a rich history musically and sporting, now it is the 2nd most visited city in England. This means the tourist industry thrives bringing in revenue from the other regions or nations. This has helped ease the recessions damage, from 2010 GVA has been increasing annually from 2010.
The cities soul appears to be music and sporting orientated, the old mills and print works have been redeveloped it still retains remnants of its old industrial past. This is a city which is improving year after year, whether it is economic growth or quality of life. The city has a high standard of living voted most vibrant city in the UK climbing 20 places in 12 years.
