The Global Competitiveness of Regions

Robert Huggins, Hiro Izushi, Daniel Prokop, Piers Thompson

List Price: £80.00
ISBN-10: 0415859433
ISBN-13: 978-0415859431
Pages: 260
Binding: Hardback

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Summary

The aim of this book is to consider theoretically the notion of the global competitiveness of regions, as well as giving attention as to how such competitiveness may be empirically measured. With this in mind, the book has three specific objectives: first, to place the concept of regional competitiveness within the context of regional economic development theory; second, to present a rationale and method for quantifying the global competitiveness of regions; and, third, to undertake the most geographically widespread analysis of regional competitiveness differences across the globe. With regard to the third goal, the analysis incorporates more than 500 regions across Europe, North and South America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and the so-called BRIC economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China.

The importance of the concept of competitiveness has increased rapidly in recent years, with the issues surrounding it becoming, at the same time, more empirically refined and theoretically complex. The focus on regions reflects the growing consensus that they are the primary spatial units that compete to attract investment, and it is at the regional level that knowledge is circulated and transferred, resulting in agglomerations, or clusters, of industrial and service sector enterprises. This growing acknowledgement of the region’s role as a key spatial unit of organisation has led to attention turning to competitiveness at a more regional level.

The book explores the results of the World Competitiveness Index of Regions (WCIR), covering the rankings and results of the 2014 edition. The WCIR provides a tool for analysing the development of a range of regional economies across the globe. It enables an illustration of the changing patterns of regional competitiveness on the international stage to be generated. In fundamental terms, the WCIR aims to produce an integrated and overall benchmark of the knowledge capacity, capability, and sustainability of each region, and the extent to which this knowledge is translated into economic value and transferred into the wealth of the citizens of each region.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Regional competitiveness
3. World Competitiveness Index of Regions
4. Regional competitiveness and economic development
5. Regional competitiveness and stages of development
6. Regional evolution and waves of growth
7. The competitiveness of European regions
8. The competitiveness of North American regions
9. The competitiveness of BRIC regions
10. The competitiveness of Middle Eastern regions
11. Regional competitiveness benchmarking and policymaking
12. Conclusions

World Competitiveness Index of Regions – Top Twenty (2014)
(Mean Average = 100)

Rank Region Index
1 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, US 359.98
2 Région de Bruxelles-Capitale, Belgium 328.50
3 Tokyo, Japan 307.02
4 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, US 301.65
5 Ulsan, Korea 297.72
6 Stockholm, Sweden 292.80
7 Norway 291.32
8 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT, US 290.86
9 Luxembourg 289.46
10 Singapore 287.91
11 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH, US 278.00
12 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA, US 269.07
13 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, US 266.72
14 Australian Capital Territory, Australia 262.82
15 Hovedstaden, Denmark 260.27
16 Île de France, France 259.08
17 Baltimore-Towson, MD, US 258.75
18 Chungnam, Korea 258.24
19 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC, US 255.39
20 Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia 250.93

Most competitive European regions- Top 10

WCIR Europe Rank Region Nation WCIR WCIR Rank
1 Région de Bruxelles-Capitale Belgium 328.5 2
2 Stockholm Sweden 292.8 6
3 Norway Norway 291.3 7
4 Luxembourg Luxembourg 289.5 9
5 Hovedstaden Denmark 260.3 15
6 Île de France France 259.1 16
7 Etelä-Suomi Finland 246.7 21
8 Switzerland Switzerland 240.1 24
9 Baden-Württemberg Germany 228.1 31
10 Zuid-Nederland Netherlands 219.6 34

Most competitive regions in North America – Top 10

North America Rank Region WCIR score WCIR rank
1 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 360.0 1
2 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 301.7 4
3 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 290.9 8
4 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH 278.0 11
5 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 269.1 12
6 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 266.7 13
7 Baltimore-Towson, MD 258.7 17
8 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 255.4 19
9 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA 242.2 23
10 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 234.7 27

Most competitive BRIC regions – Top 10

BRIC rank Region Nation WCIR score WCIR rank
1 Nenets Autonomous Okrug Russia 250.93 20
2 Shanghai, China China 216.50 41
3 Beijing China 214.21 42
4 Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Russia 159.49 135
5 Moscow Russia 140.06 186
6 Tianjing China 138.68 192
7 Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Russia 121.72 222
8 Hong Kong Hong Kong 117.13 238
9 Distrito Federal Brazil 111.13 250
10 Zhejiang China 110.20 252

Most competitive Middle Eastern regions – Top 10

Middle East Rank Region Nation WCIR score WCIR rank
1 Israel Israel 168.75 111
2 Qatar Qatar 142.33 181
3 Kuwait Kuwait 114.95 244
4 Abu Dhabi UAE 66.44 320
5 Al-Riyadh Saudi Arabia 65.43 327
6 Eastern Region Saudi Arabia 58.95 335
7 Istanbul Turkey 55.48 347
8 Al-Qaseem Saudi Arabia 55.40 349
9 East Marmara Turkey 52.22 358
10 Dubai UAE 50.40 363