The inauguration of the National Assembly of Wales creates a new opportunity to consider the economic agenda for Wales. This thought-provoking collection of papers carefully considers the recent past and makes a detailed analysis of the many facets of the regional economy. Individual chapters cover foreign investment, transport, small businesses, earnings, the rural dimension and outline the policy perspective. The book then looks forward and outlines the policy options for change which may provide a prosperous future for the region in an increasingly competitive world. For more information about the Welsh Economy Research Unit at Cardiff University, visit www.weru.org.uk

Rural Wales in the Twenty-First Century explores the ever-changing geographies in rural Wales today. Written by experts in human geography and sociology, the essays analyze the ways in which the contemporary geographies of rural Wales are bound up with rather complex connections between society, culture, economy, and environment. Among the numerous topics discussed are rural demographics, the cultural impacts of immigration, labor markets, food and farming, and environmental sustainability. The book uses these accounts to provide a broader critique of rural geography and rural studies in the United Kingdom and other developed countries.

Leading figures across the political spectrum discuss the future of their parties against the backdrop of the coalition government.

Some of the most exciting writers in and from Wales consider the future of Wales and the UK and their place in it. What does it mean to imagine Wales and ‘The Welsh’ as something both distinct and inclusive? In Welsh (Plural), some of the foremost Welsh writers consider the future of Wales and their place in it. For many people, Wales brings to mind the same old collection of images – if it’s not rugby, sheep and leeks, it’s the 3 Cs: castles, coal, and choirs. Heritage, mining and the church are indeed integral parts of Welsh culture. But what of the other stories that point us toward a Welsh future? In this anthology of essays, authors offer imaginative, radical perspectives on the future of Wales as they take us beyond the clichés and binaries that so often shape thinking about Wales and Welshness. Includes essays from Charlotte Williams (A Tolerant Nation?), Joe Dunthorne (Submarine, The Adulterants), Niall Griffiths (Sheepshagger, Broken Ghost), Rabab Ghazoul (Gentle / Radical Turner Prize Nominee), Mike Parker (On the Red Hill), Martin Johnes (Wales Since 1939, Wales: England’s Colony?), Kandace Siobhan Walker (2019 Guardian 4th Estate Prize Winner), Gary Raymond (Golden Orphans, Wales Arts Review, BBC Wales), Darren Chetty (The Good Immigrant), Andy Welch (The Guardian), Marvin Thompson (Winner 2021 UK Poetry Prize), Durre Shahwar (Where I’m Coming From), Hanan Issa (My Body Can House Two Hearts), Dan Evans (Desolation Radio), Shaheen Sutton, Morgan Owen, Iestyn Tyne, Grug Muse and Cerys Hafana.

R. Tudur Jones argues that many of the social, cultural and religious issues that would be important in the late 20th century and early 21st century in Wales were already extant a century earlier and that in understanding that period we can learn something of our own time.

Down the centuries, poets have provided Wales with a window onto its own distinctive world. This book gives a sense of the view seen through that special window in twelve illustrated poems, each bringing very different periods and aspects of the Welsh past into focus. Together, they give the flavour of a poetic tradition, both ancient and modern, in the Welsh language and in English, that is internationally renowned for its distinction and continuing vibrancy.