Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 7.5
The highest non-US relative productivity cities in the OECD
Non US OECD
cities excluding
former transition
economies,
Mexico and
Turkey
City
population
(million)
Relative
produc-
tivity
Non US
OECD
cities
(all OECD
countries)
City
population
(million)
Relative
produc-
tivity
London
7.4
1.59
Warsaw
3.0
1.99
Paris
11.2
1.53
Monterrey
3.2
1.98
Lisbon
2.7
1.39
Istanbul
11.4
1.60
Auckland
1.2
1.34
London
7.4
1.59
Stuttgart
2.7
1.34
Budapest
2.8
1.59
Milan
7.4
1.31
Paris
11.2
1.53
Munich
6.1
1.30
Prague
2.3
1.51
Stockholm
2.2
1.29
Mexico City
18.4
1.49
Vienna
2.2
1.27
Izmir
3.4
1.46
Lyon
1.6
1.26
Ankara
4.0
1.41
Frankfurt
5.6
1.24
Guadalajara
3.5
1.39
Madrid
5.6
1.24
Lisbon
2.7
1.39
Rome
3.7
1.21
Puebla
2.1
1.36
Brussels
3.8
1.19
Auckland
1.2
1.34
Helsinki
1.8
1.19
Stuttgart
2.7
1.34
Sources:
Calculations based on OECD (2006 pp. 38-40); OECD (2008); World Bank
(2008b); McCann and Acs (2011).
are also just as important for productivity and performance as scale, and
the arguments in Chapters 4 to 5 point to the crucial role that cities or
urban regions can play as centres of knowledge (Caniëls 2000), creativity
(Florida 2005a,) and innovation (Acs 2002). Indeed, comparing Tables 7.3
and 7.4 with Tables 7.2 and 7.5, and also considering the arguments devel-
oped in previous chapters, would indicate that for advanced economies
today issues of knowledge, technology and innovation are likely to be far
more important for fostering productivity than simply scale.
All these findings therefore suggest that during the twentieth century
there have been qualitative changes in the role of cities in the industrial-
ized world which favour the competitive advantages associated with cities
being centres of knowledge. The clues as to why particular cities are highly
productive lie in the types of firms which are located there. In order to
generate the required returns to their knowledge investments, many of
these knowledge-based firms must capture markets which extend well
beyond the borders of their own country. Traditionally, these returns
