Reviving the valleys of south wales case-study evidence of a link with low pay

This commentary presents case-study evidence on aspects of the incidence of low pay in the European region of Wales. The interesting finding is that it appears to be firms relocating to Wales from elsewhere in the UK who pay lower wages for the same work. This has important implications for the perpetuation of low pay in subregions of Wales, and we find the potential for a mismatch in the employment-creation objectives of the current Welsh Development Agency (WDA). In addition, we suggest that the new Welsh assembly should play a vital role in ensuring that necessary higher-level employment forms part of future economic development.