ABSTRACT
The components of change approach is thus at its most powerful where events on the ground can be set not simply in terms of the size or type of industries for which they are observed but also in the context of those defined groups of corporate actors whose decisions promote them. Piecing together the complex processes of industrial change in metropolitan areas to produce an intelligible picture is a daunting task, particularly during times of rapid change. This chapter explores the changes in manufacturing employment in the two conurbations between 1966 and 1975, broken down by major components of change. It also explores the changing ownership profile of manufacturing industry in the two conurbations between 1966 and 1975. The most striking difference between Manchester and Merseyside as a whole in 1966 was the enormous difference in the extent of local, as opposed to external, control.
