ABSTRACT
During the past decade the West Midlands has experienced a series of dramatic swings in its fortunes. The region is traditionally regarded as Britain’s manufacturing heartland, centring on the conurbation of Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country and encompassing the surrounding shire counties of Shropshire, Hereford and Worcester, Staffordshire and Warwickshire. The region suffered an unprecedented economic collapse during the recession of the early-1980s. In contrast, during the second half of the decade the West Midlands enjoyed a remarkable economic revival, with the region expected to display a more resilient performance during the challenges of the 1990s.
