The economy of cities

[i]PricewaterhouseCoopers Report[/i] In outlining the economic prospects for the United Kingdom, the PricewaterhouseCoopers report published last March has analyzed the economic strength of the largest cities in the world, in terms of their GDP, showing the present situation and forecasting that for 2020. In 2005 the first 30 urban economies produced about 16% of world GDP, the first 100, 25%. The report identifies the first 100 world urban economies using a study that analyzes the economic strength of 150 cities. Obviously, today, at the top of the ranking are the more developed countries, with Tokyo and New York clearly way ahead of the others, however, the most interesting changes have involved the cities of the newly emerging economies. In 2005, among the first 30 cities, only 5 (Mexico City, Buenos Aires, San Paolo, Moscow and Rio de Janeiro) were from emerging economies, but projections show that by 2020 this figure could double. In terms of the GDP growth rate, as is easy to imagine, this ranking is literally reversed. The PWC researchers maintain that economically advanced cities, even though they clearly undergo less changes compared to economically emerging cities, can continue to compete successfully by further developing their specializations in sectors such as, for example, financing services, communications, fashion and cultural tourism. For more information visit the "Future of the city newsletter": http://www.dau.uniroma1.it/futureofthecity/newsletter/TheFutureoftheCity_Newsletter_05_2007.pdf