World Bank Group2015-12-042015-12-042015-12https://hdl.handle.net/10986/23227A competitive city is a city that successfully facilitates its firms and industries to create jobs, raise productivity, and increase the incomes of citizens over time. Worldwide, improving the competitiveness of cities is a pathway to eliminating extreme poverty and to promoting shared prosperity. The primary source of job creation has been the growth of private sector firms, which have typically accounted for around 75 percent of job creation. Thus city leaders need to be familiar with the factors that help to attract, to retain, and to expand the private sector. This document aims to analyze what makes a city competitive and how more cities can become competitive.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOCAPITALSLOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIESCITY SIZECITY OFFICIALSCITIES ALLIANCEPOLICY REFORMSRED TAPEURBANIZATIONBUSINESS LICENSESSALCITYEMPLOYMENT GENERATIONBUSINESS COMMUNITYBIG CITIESMEDIUM ENTERPRISESCITY ECONOMIC STRATEGIESCITY MANAGERSREVENUESMAYORSINDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENTREGULATORY REFORMSINDUSTRIAL ZONESTAXCITIESTOWNSCITY GOVERNMENTSREGULATORY REFORMURBAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTSUBNATIONALMACROECONOMIC STABILITYVOCATIONAL SCHOOLSTECHNICAL ASSISTANCEECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVESEFFICIENCY GAINSINTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONSMETROPOLITAN AREASMETROPOLITAN CITIESREDISTRIBUTIONINDUSTRIAL STRUCTURECITY DEVELOPMENTINDUSTRIALIZATIONMUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTSLAND USE CHANGEURBAN TRANSITIONINDUSTRIAL PARKMAYORINDUSTRIAL STRUCTURE ANALYSISCITY PERFORMANCESUBNATIONAL GOVERNMENTTAX REVENUESPOLICY IMPLEMENTATIONURBAN COMPETITIVENESSSERVICE DELIVERYSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTLEGAL FRAMEWORKTAX POLICIESINFRASTRUCTURETAXESACCESS TO INFORMATIONLAND USECITY POPULATIONMEGACITIESUNEMPLOYMENTVOCATIONAL TRAININGCITY LEADERSCITY ADMINISTRATIONCITY COUNCILSTRANSPARENCYUNEMPLOYMENT RATEACCESS TO CAPITALUTILITIESPOLICY MAKERSCITY AUTHORITIESCAPACITY-BUILDINGSTAKEHOLDERSSTAKEHOLDER GROUPSLARGE CITIESCOMPARATIVE ADVANTAGESSECONDARY CITIESCAPITAL CITIESECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUPPORTURBAN AREASTOURISMECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POTENTIALCITY LEADERSHIPPROVINCIAL CAPITALREFUGEESECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIESCITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTCITY GOVERNMENT STAFFCITY ECONOMIESURBAN DEVELOPMENTCITY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIESQUALITY OF LIFEMARKET TOWNSCITY COMPETITIVENESSGOVERNANCEINDUSTRIAL PARKSTAXATIONECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTCITY STRATEGIESSLUMSTECHNICAL ADVICEPUBLIC AGENCIESTAX CREDITSMUNICIPALITYTECHNOLOGY TRANSFERBUSINESS CLIMATECITY BOUNDARIESCOMPARATIVE ADVANTAGEPOVERTYINDUSTRIAL OUTPUTBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTMETROPOLITAN AREADECENTRALIZATIONLOCAL INDUSTRYCOMMUNITYCITY REVENUESUBURBAN DISTRICTSURBAN ECONOMICSAVERAGE PRODUCTIVITYSOCIAL INFRASTRUCTUREEASE OF DOING BUSINESSCITY LIMITSLAND MANAGEMENTSMALL BUSINESSESURBAN AGGLOMERATIONSSEWERAGECONSTRUCTION PERMITSCITY ROADSWorking PaperWorld Bank10.1596/23227