The world is abuzz with the news that the United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union.
In light of the pro-leave vote, policy experts are trying to understand the effects of a population feeling left behind by globalization and automation, especially in manufacturing regions such as eastern and southwestern Ontario. In his latest op-ed for TVO, Assistant Professor Mike Moffatt encourages them to look at the situation with a broader perspective.
There's a theme of helplessness across southwestern Ontario, says Moffatt, that what happens to communities is determined by forces outside of our control in boardrooms thousands of miles away. To combat this, policy-makers need to find ways for citizens to create and have a stake in the economic prosperity of their communities.
"The challenge is less about finding policies that leave citizens having more control over their fate, and more about convincing policy-makers to examine the problem of working-class stagnation not simply through an economic lens, but one of local autonomy," he says.
