Dividing the pork barrel: Britain's enterprise zone experience

Abstract

The British government's second crop of enterprise zones (EZs), announced in the autumn of 1982, proves a suitable example of government resource allocation against which to assess, in a British context, the ‘pork barrel’ model derived from the political experience of the United States. After some introductory comments on this model, on types of pork barrelling that may result, and on the reasons for the suitability of EZs as a testing ground, a series of analyses are presented to examine whether the pork barrel model accords with the selection of successful EZs from the much larger pool of localities that applied for EZ status, and whether this discrimination between successful and unsuccessful applicants was of any significance in the General Election of June 1983.