The Global Urban Competitiveness Report – 2013

Edited by Pengfei Ni, Professor of Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China, Peter Karl Kresl, Charles P. Vaughan Professor of Economics Emeritus, Bucknell University, US and Wei Liu, Researcher, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China

The Global Urban Competitiveness Report – 2013 is an empirical study and evaluation of the sustainable competitiveness of 500 cities around the world from regional, national and other perspectives. This one-of-a-kind resource draws on a wealth of data sources, all of which are described and assessed, and involve urban economics, geography, urban studies, regional economics and many other fields. Using a sophisticated methodology and a team of 100 researchers from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the book not only ranks these cities but also presents a treasury of information with regard to the strengths and weaknesses of each city in relation to each other.

‘This book provides a comprehensive view of global urban competitiveness, offers a useful methodology for its comparative study in different socioeconomic and territorial contexts, and is supplemented with reflections and case studies from around the world. Reading it is highly recommended to understand contemporary patterns in industrial and services location among cities, and the effects of such spatial concentration in the urban labor markets and in the quality of life of the urban population.’
– Jaime Sobrino, El Colegio de México

‘Theoretically informed contributions to this empirically rich text introduce a timely critical perspective to the urban competitiveness literature, emphasizing that the notion of competitiveness applied in economic analysis cannot be conferred simplistically on city relations. A range of environmental, cohesion, technological innovation, cultural diversity and governance alongside business and GDP empirics presented in the book points to the complexity of contemporary cities and the diversity of processes that define their distinctive roles in global networks and circuits. The book illustrates the danger of competitive interpretations of global rankings, paving the way for new research agendas focusing on fine-grained city relational analyses.’
– Kathy Pain, University of Reading, UK

“在本报告作者排名有限公司ncerning the sustainable competitiveness performance in 2013 of 500 cities from all over the world.
The report not only shows the difference between the rankings of 2013 and 2011 but it also offers an extensive analysis of a huge data set on global urban competitiveness from a regional point of view. In addition the report also contains special contributions on issues related to sustainable urban competitiveness, for example green cities, institutions, world city networks and population aging. An exciting book, highly recommendable!’
– Leo van den Berg, Euricur/Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands

‘This book is an updated assessment of the urban competitiveness of 500 cities in the world, based on seven indicators supported by data from the most authoritative sources. It is a valuable resource for comparing the positions of various cities in the league table of global urban competitiveness. The chapters in Part II written by leading experts of urban competitiveness and urban studies, make this book a valuable reference on the recent conceptual and methodological advancements in urban competitiveness studies.’
– Jianfa Shen, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Acclaim for previous edition:

‘If you believe that the world economy is composed of cities vying with one another for capital investment, creative individuals, and high-performance firms, then you might be curios about which cities are most successful. To find out, you will need to consult this book. . . This reference work is thorough in its coverage.’
– R.A. Beauregard, Choice