LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR TBILISI ... - LED

2. City competitiveness
2.1. Factors of city competitiveness
City competitiveness can be defined as the ability to attract and retain citizens, investment
and good quality work places as well as visitors. It is no less important to support city
economy in such a way that city products keep strong position on international markets.
As we continue to move towards a global knowledge economy, the competitive playing
field has shifted dramatically. City-regions are now competing with one another:
• to attract skilled labour;
• to attract new investment and quality jobs;
• for their share of global markets in the city’s export cluster.
In a global knowledge economy, skilled labour, investment and jobs are increasingly
mobile. They can move relatively easily across national boundaries, and between cities.
Products and services compete globally. Sales of these products and services can
generate added value, income, investment and jobs in the region in which they are
produced. It means that cities should build on their strengths. Notably, they can create
partnerships and employment and innovation pacts, bringing together key players within
an area – elected representatives, business leaders, NGOs, interest groups and
universities – to engage in positive and dynamic social and economic development.
Cities should tackle their weaknesses, boosting employability among those groups within
the population which find it hardest to access employment. In some cases, cities compete
directly with other cities for market share, as in the tourism industry, where the character,
attractions and events compete directly to attract tourists and their money. In other cases,
the role of cities in supporting the competitiveness of their exports is more indirect.
As globalization proceeds, cities continue to take centre stage in the global economic
theatre. The relationship between cities is primarily one of intense competition. Ultimately,
a sustained or improved quality of life in particular metropolises depends upon its ability to
compete successfully with other cities and to provide the necessary economic
foundations for growth. Competitive businesses and industries create jobs for residents
and labour force, and assessment revenue for the city that allows it to provide a range of
social, community, physical and other services and programs.
Cities often naturally provide a stimulating environment for innovation and businesses to
flourish and there are steps they can take to further foster this environment. The added
value of city-level actions is that they have more information on the specificities of the
business environment and are able to carry out smaller scale complex actions tackling
multiple interlinked problems. Those are factors that allow cities to successfully compete
with each other.
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