The Legacy of the Northern Way?

Abstract

The Northern Way (NW) was a pan-regional, multi-level initiative between three English northern regions, set up to promote economic growth and close a £30 billion output gap. Some limited research on progress prior to 2006 exists, but hardly anything about achievements between 2008 and closure in 2011. This paper redresses the limitations with data from existing evaluations and key stakeholder interviews. Findings reveal that partners developed good collaborative working, gathered robust data on critical economic and social issues, and learnt much during 2004–2008. Between 2008 and 2011, activities were refocused on a narrower set of critical priorities and partners developed real policy learning and became a credible voice for the Northern regions. After closure, it became evident that NW left a ‘vacuum’ as an effective coordinator of evidence and views from three Northern regions. Many issues that it sought to address remain as critical today as they did when it was created.     

Event Dependence and Heterogeneity in Duration Models: The Conditional Frailty Model

Suzanna De Boef and Kyle A. Joyce Department of Political Science, 219 Pond Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 e-mail: sdeboef{at}psu.edu e-mail: kjoyce{at}psu.edu e-mail: jboxstef+{at}osu.edu (corresponding author) We introduce the conditional frailty model, an event historymodel that separates and accounts for both event dependenceand heterogeneity in repeated events processes. Event dependenceand heterogeneity create within-subject correlation in eventtimes thereby violating the assumptions of standard event historymodels. Simulations show the advantage of the conditional frailtymodel. Specifically they demonstrate the model's ability todisentangle the sources of within-subject correlation as wellas the gains in both efficiency and bias of the model when comparedto the widely used alternatives, which often produce conflictingconclusions. Two substantive political science problems illustratethe usefulness and interpretation of the model: state policyadoption and terrorist attacks. Authors' note: Three anonymous reviewers gave valuable advice.Replication materials and an online appendix are available onthe Political Analysis Web site. Any errors are our own responsibility.