A Comparative Study on Industrial Competitiveness of World Cities

In order to take part in the command and control of the world economy, many countries in Asia, are designing policies to nurture and promote world cities. While world cities share some common economic characteristics they also have distinct roles in the international spatial division of labor. However, existing studies lack in providing comparative data to show the nature of world city economies across all industrial sectors. This paper compares industrial characteristics of world cities and based on the performances during the 1990’s, assesses the competitive situations. Comparison is made between Asian and Western cities and between primary and secondary cities. The industrial performances in world cities during the 1990’s indicate that a number of Asian and secondary world cities are gaining competitiveness over Western and primary world cities especially in FIRE (Finance, Insurance, Real Estate), business services, trade, hotels and restaurants. If appropriate policies are pursued to enhance dynamism, it is reasonable to expect that these cities will emerge as major world cities, complementing or even replacing the roles of top leading cities.