NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As President-Elect Barack Obama develops an economic stimulus plan to reinvigorate the struggling economy, a timely new report provides insight into which competitive assets are most crucial to the future growth and success of 20 leading cities around the world -- including four U.S. cities -- and provides policy-makers with signposts for an effective stimulus package.
Cities of Opportunity, released today by the Partnership for New York City and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, finds that, with their concentration of diverse talent and capacity to constantly reinvent themselves, these cities are best positioned to lead the way out of the global recession.
The report focuses on 20 international cities that are global or regional centers of finance and commerce. It uses 51 variables to measure and compare their competitive assets and suggests how cities can leverage and build upon their strengths in order to innovate and grow.
A glance at the transportation and infrastructure assets indicator, for example, shows that New York and Chicago perform strongly, but both cities trail London and Beijing. Houston and Los Angeles rank only slightly higher than Johannesburg in this category. In terms of specific signposts for investment, New York and Los Angeles share the problem of significant congestion, while Houston clearly needs to invest in mass transit.
During a time of unprecedented economic crisis and upheaval, global cities must be the focal point for restoration of order and the locus of new opportunities for international business and finance. They alone offer the depth and diversity of intellectual capital as well as the technology, infrastructure and world class institutions that 21st Century global businesses require in order to prosper.
"Our work revealed that New York, London, Paris and Tokyo enjoy the concentrations of cutting-edge technology, higher learning and market access, which allows the businesses that locate there to attract the talent required to navigate through changing market conditions," said Dennis M. Nally, Chairman & Senior Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Mr. Nally added, "Our report provides a roadmap for the leaders of cities that are seeking to be business-ready, showing them how to compete for investment and jobs in a rapidly changing global marketplace."
Kathryn Wylde, President & CEO of the Partnership for New York City, commented, "Right now, high concentrations of intellectual capital and capacity for innovation are the most important factors in a city's appeal to business. New York, London, Tokyo and Paris rank particularly well in those vital categories, but many other cities around the world offer business climate, lifestyle and sustainability features that challenge our pre-eminence. We have much to learn from them."
According to the report, intellectual capital is the foundation of a knowledge-based world, and the wealth of a city's quality educational opportunities and brain trust are keys to attracting the best businesses and brightest talent. In this category, New York City scored the highest, followed by Paris, London, Tokyo and Shanghai, which easily scored highest in this category among emerging cities.
New York City also scored highest in Technology IQ and innovation, which will be critical to cities as they try to adapt to changing conditions, gain greater balance among business sectors and create new areas of growth. American cities scored high overall in this category, with Chicago placing second, Houston fourth and Los Angeles seventh. Other high scorers include Tokyo, London and Paris.
In terms of cost competitiveness, American cities scored very well, with Houston, Chicago and Los Angeles leading the pack. New York, often considered an expensive place to do business, placed very favorably compared to both London and Hong Kong, which were at a competitive disadvantage.
The study shows that many other cities are setting new standards and doing things right. Forward-looking policies and program are preparing them for growth or renaissance. For instance:
* Chicago and Toronto score best on diversity of the population and quality of life. * Sydney and Frankfurt set the standard for environmental sustainability. * Singapore and Hong Kong get high marks for ease of doing business. * Among emerging cities, Dubai, Shanghai and Mumbai rank highest in terms of new construction and job creation funded by direct foreign investment. * The host of the 2012 Summer Olympics, London ranks highest in transportation, followed by the 2008 host city, Beijing, which invested billions of dollars in preparation for the event. * As expected, London, Paris and New York continue to score highest as global business and financial centers. Interestingly, New York and London retain their high scores even when power metrics are stripped out. Paris loses out to both Singapore and Sydney on quality measures.
Cities of Opportunities is based on publicly available data, using three main sources: global statistics organizations, such as the World Bank and IMF; national statistics organizations, such as the US Census Bureau; and commercial data providers. The data was collected in the second and third quarters of 2008. In the majority of cases, the data used refers to 2007 and 2008. Some up-to-date data, however, was not available across a portion of the report's financial variables. Methodologies were developed to score the data to ensure transparency and simplicity for readers, as well as comparability across cities.
The full report is available online at www.pfnyc.org and at www.pwc.com/cities.
About PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers (www.pwc.com) provides industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to build public trust and enhance value for its clients and their stakeholders. More than 155,000 people in 153 countries across our network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice.
"PricewaterhouseCoopers" refers to the network of member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity.
About the Partnership for New York City
The Partnership for New York City (www.pfnyc.org) is a network of business leaders dedicated to enhancing the economy of the five boroughs of New York City and maintaining the city's position as the center of world commerce, finance and innovation.