Measuring and Comparing World Cities

Freeman, Alan (2004): Measuring and Comparing World Cities. Published in: Greater London Authority Economics Papers (1 June 2004)

Abstract

Measuring and Comparing World Cities studies the economic performance of a shortlist of 27 cities, as estimated by seven sources.

The article reproduces, in citable form and, for scholarly purposes, the report of the same name produced by the author for the Greater London Authority.

The report finds that estimates of even the most basic indicators, such as the level and growth of city productivity, diverge so much between the providers of estimates, that no single estimate of any indicator of city performance can be relied on. It explains why.

The findings of this paper led GLA Economics to the conclusion that a world standard for comparing cities was required, leading to its work in defining a Functional Urban Region (FUR) for London, and to joint work with the Greater European Metropolitan Areas Comparative Analysis (GEMACA) project, with Eurostat’s Urban Audit, and with the territorial working group of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), to attempt to define a world standard

The lack of such a world standard led GLA Economics to produce the benchmark dataset reproduced in this paper. This specifies output, employment and productivity for 27 cities, derived from standardised geographical definitions and harmonised data. The dataset serves as a reference for the GLA group and is used to compare and assess data commissioned from other private and official sources.

This working paper outlines a procedure to extend this dataset to a wider range of cities and indicators. It also specified a framework for the GLA group to use when commissioning further data on cities.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: City; global city; Functional Urban Region; Larger Urban Zone; Territorial Indicators; Metropolitan Region; pluralism
• Subjects: H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government ; Intergovernmental Relations > H70 - General; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R0 - General; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J0 - General

References

Department of the Environment and Government Office for London 1996, Four World Cities: a Comparative Study of London, Paris, New York and Tokyo, London, Llewelyn-Davies

Eurostat 2003, European Regional Statistics: Reference Guide, Brussels, Eurostat

Friedman, J. 1986, The World City Hypothesis, Development and Change 17, 69-84

Geddes, P. 1915, Cities in Evolution, London, Williams and Norgate

Hall, P. 1966, The World Cities, New York, McGraw-Hill

HM Treasury 2003, Pre-Budget Report 2003, London, HM Treasury

HM Treasury 2004, Pre-Budget Report 2004, London, HM Treasury

LPAC 1991, London: World City Moving into the 21st Century, London, HMSO

Parkinson, M., M. Hutchings, J. Simmie, G. Clark and H. Verdonk 2004, Competitive European Cities: Where do the Core Cities Stand? A report to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, London, ODPM

Sassen, S. 1991, The Global City – London, New York, Tokyo, Princeton NJ, Princeton University Press

Sassen, S. 2000, Cities in a World Economy, Pine Forge, Thousand Oaks, London and New Delhi

GAWC http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/ is the home page of the Globalisation and World Cities Study group (GAWC), a research project managed by the Geography Department at Loughborough University, contains much useful information and many valuable links. http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/citylist.html contains links to the official home pages run by most major world cities.