Zhang, MingZhang, Ming2012-03-192012-03-192010978-0-8213-8157-1https://hdl.handle.net/10986/2690Given the Brazilian federal government's high priority on economic growth, competitiveness is at the top of the economic agenda. While economic policies at the national level are important to this agenda, more than 75 percent of people live in urban areas, which produce more than 90 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). 'What can cities do to improve economic performance and create jobs?' Mayors, governors, and federal government officials have frequently asked this question. For cities, economic competition has become more intense with globalization. Many municipal officials have been striving to enhance municipal infrastructure and services, while others have also been working on reducing the cost of doing businesses to make their areas more attractive for private investment. On the other hand, promoting local economic growth without considering local context and market conditions does not always achieve expectations. The policies discussed in this report are essentially about promoting local economic development. However, the author believe that the term competitiveness, as a dynamic concept, is helpful for local policy makers as it implies two essential aspects of promoting local economic development in today's environment: (a) cities not only need to provide a good business environment, they need to strive to provide a better one than others, at least in certain aspects (or niches); and (b) cities need to continually upgrade and innovate to achieve sustained growth.CC BY 3.0 IGOACTION PLANSBENCHMARKBENCHMARKINGBENCHMARKSBEST PRACTICESBEST-PRACTICEBOUNDARIESBRAINBRAIN DRAINBUREAUCRACIESBUSINESS ACTIVITIESBUSINESS DECISIONSBUSINESS DEVELOPMENTBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SERVICESBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTBUSINESS REGULATIONBUSINESS SERVICESBUSINESSESBUYERSCENTRAL GOVERNMENTSCITIESCOALCOLLABORATIONCOLLABORATIONSCOLLECTIVE ACTIONCOMMODITYCOMMON GOODCOMMUNICATION SKILLSCOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGYCOMMUNITIESCOMPARATIVE ADVANTAGECOMPARATIVE ANALYSISCOMPETENCIESCOMPETITIVE ADVANTAGECOMPETITIVE ADVANTAGESCOMPETITIVE EDGECOMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENTCOMPETITIVENESSCOMPETITORSCONNECTIVITYCONSUMERSCOPYRIGHTDATA COLLECTIONDECENTRALIZATIONDECISION MAKERSDECISION MAKINGDEVELOPED COUNTRIESDEVELOPMENT AGENCIESDEVELOPMENT POLICIESDEVELOPMENT POLICYDEVELOPMENT STRATEGYDISCUSSIONDISCUSSIONSDOMAINSE-MAILECONOMIC ACTIVITIESECONOMIC ACTIVITYECONOMIC ANALYSISECONOMIC COMPETITIONECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESSECONOMIC CONDITIONSECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GEOGRAPHYECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC OUTCOMESECONOMIC PERFORMANCEECONOMIC POLICIESECONOMIC RESEARCHECONOMIC STRUCTUREECONOMIC STRUCTURESECONOMIC SYSTEMSECONOMIC THEORYECONOMICSECONOMISTSELECTRICITYELECTRONICS INDUSTRYEMAILSEMPIRICAL EVIDENCEEMPIRICAL RESEARCHEMPLOYMENT CREATIONENVIRONMENTALENVIRONMENTAL QUALITYEQUIPMENTEQUIPMENTSEXCHANGE RATEEXPLOITATIONEXPORT PROMOTIONEXTERNALITIESFEEDBACK MECHANISMSFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONFINANCIAL SERVICESFINANCIAL SUPPORTFOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTGDPGDP PER CAPITAGLOBAL ECONOMYGLOBALIZATIONGOVERNMENT POLICIESGOVERNMENT POLICYGOVERNMENT SERVICESGRAPHICSGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTGROWTH RATEGROWTH THEORYHIERARCHIESHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN INTERACTIONHUMAN RESOURCESICTIDEASIDENTITYINCOMEINCREASING RETURNSINDUSTRIAL BASEINDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENTINDUSTRIAL STRUCTUREINDUSTRIALIZATIONINDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONINFORMATION AGEINFORMATION TECHNOLOGYINNOVATIONINNOVATIONSINTEGRATIONINTERMEDIATE GOODSINTERNATIONAL TRADEINVENTIONKNOWLEDGE FLOWSKNOWLEDGE SHARINGKNOWLEDGE TRANSMISSIONLABOR PRODUCTIVITYLEADINGLEARNINGLICENSESLOCALIZATIONLOGICMACROECONOMIC STABILITYMANAGEMENT SYSTEMSMANUFACTURINGMANUFACTURING INDUSTRIESMARGINAL COSTMARKET ECONOMYMARKET OPPORTUNITIESMARKET SHAREMARKETINGMATERIALMULTILATERAL TRADENATURAL ENDOWMENTSNATURAL RESOURCESNEGATIVE EXTERNALITIESNETWORKSOILPER CAPITA INCOMEPER CAPITA INCOMESPHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTUREPOLICY FRAMEWORKPOLICY MAKERSPOLITICAL SYSTEMSPOLLUTIONPOSITIVE EFFECTSPOSITIVE EXTERNALITIESPOSITIVE FEEDBACKPOSITIVE FEEDBACK MECHANISMSPRACTITIONERSPRIVATE INVESTMENTPRIVATE PARTNERSHIPSPRIVATE SECTORPRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENTPRIVATE SECTORSPRODUCTION PROCESSESPRODUCTIVITY GROWTHPUBLIC GOODSPUBLIC PARTICIPATIONPUBLIC UTILITIESQUERIESR&DRECYCLINGREGISTRYRESULTRESULTSSEMICONDUCTORSERVICE PROVIDERSSIDE EFFECTSSILICONSITESSKILLED LABORSMALL BUSINESSSOCIAL CAPITALSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSPATIAL ECONOMICSSTRUCTURAL CHANGESUPPLY CHAINSSUPPLY NETWORKSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTTACIT KNOWLEDGETARGETSTECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESSTELECOMMUNICATIONSTELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIESTELEPHONETHINKINGTRADE LIBERALIZATIONTRANSMISSIONTYPES OF KNOWLEDGEUSESVALUE CHAINVALUE CHAINSVARIETYVISIONWAGESWEALTHWEBWORKFORCEWORLD TRADEWORLD TRADE ORGANIZATIONWorld Bank10.1596/978-0-8213-8157-1