This book considers the patterns, strategies, and consequences of industrial restructuring in two dynamic Asian city-states, Hong Kong and Singapore, in the global economy. It highlights the institutional differences between the two industrial economies.

This book focuses on the urban impact of economic globalization, the new inequalities among and within cities, and the new urban economy.

Cities in a World Economy examines the emergence of global cities as a new social formation. As sites of rapid and widespread developments in the areas of finance, information and people, global cities lie at the core of the major processes of globalization. The book features a cross-disciplinary approach to urban sociology using global examples, and discusses the impact of global processes on the social structure of cities. The Fifth Edition reflects the most current data available and explores recent debates such as the role of cities in mitigating environmental problems, the global refugee crisis, Brexit, and the rise of Donald Trump in the United States.

With the advent of multinational corporations, the traditional urban service function has 'gone global'. In order to provide services to globalizing corporate clients, the offices of major financial and business service firms across the world have generated networks of work. It is the myriad of flows between office towers in different metropolitan centres that has produced a world city network. Taylor and Derudder's unique and illuminating book provides both an update and a substantial revision of the first edition that was published in 2004. It provides a comprehensive and systematic description and analysis of the world city network as the 'skeleton' upon which contemporary globalization has been built. Through an analysis of the intra-company flows of 175 leading global service firms across 526 cities in 2012, this book assesses cities in terms of their overall network connectivity, the regional configurations they form, and their changing position in the period 2000-12. Results are used to reflect on cities and city/state relations in the context of the global ecological and economic crisis. Written by two of the foremost authorities on the subject, this book provides a much-needed mapping of the connecting relationships between world cities, and will be a valuable resource for students of urban studies, geography, sociology and planning.

Why have some cities become great global urban centers, and what cities will be future leaders? From Athens and Rome in ancient times to New York and Singapore today, a handful of cities have stood out as centers of global economic, military, or political power. In the twenty-first century, the number of truly global cities is greater than ever before, reflecting the globalization of both economic and political power. In Global Cities: A Short History, Greg Clark, an internationally renowned British urbanist, examines the enduring forces—such as trade, migration, war, and technology—that have enabled some cities to emerge from the pack into global leadership. Much more than a historical review, Clark’s book looks to the future, examining the trends that are transforming cities around the world as well as the new challenges all global cities, increasingly, will face. Which cities will be the global leaders of tomorrow? What are the common issues and opportunities they will face? What kinds of leadership can make these cities competitive and resilient? Clark offers answers to these and similar questions in a book that will be of interest to anyone who lives in or is affected by the world’s great urban areas.

In what ways are cities central to the evolution of contemporary global capitalism? And in what ways is global capitalism forged by the urban experience? This book provides a response to these questions, exploring the multifaceted dimensions of the city-capitalism nexus. Drawing on a wide range of conceptual approaches, including political economy, neo-institutionalism and radical political theory, this insightful book examines the complex relationships between contemporary capitalist cities and key forces of our times, such as globalization and neoliberalism. Taking a truly global perspective, Ugo Rossi offers a comparative analysis of the ways in which urban economies and societies reflect and at the same time act as engines of global capitalism. Ultimately, this book shows how over the past three decades capitalism has shifted a gear – no longer merely incorporating key aspects of society into its system, but encompassing everything, including life itself – and illustrates how cities play a central role within this life-oriented construction of global capitalism.

This is the first serious comparative study of two dynamic Asian city-states that are emerging as key regional—indeed global—cities. Providing both historical comparisons and analyses of contemporary issues, the authors consider the patterns, strategies, and consequences of industrial restructuring. They build their analysis around the interrelationships of four institutional spheres: the global economy, the state, the financial system, and the labor market. This leads to a unique emphasis on the distinctiveness of individual NICs, as opposed to much of the literature in the field, which tends to group these Asian dragons together as a single, undifferentiated case.The book addresses three basic sets of questions tied to industrial restructuring in Hong Kong and Singapore: First, what are the basic patterns of restructuring in the two economies? What corporate strategies have manufacturers used to restructure their operations? Are Hong Kong and Singapore diverging or utilizing the same restructuring strategies? Second, how should the process of restructuring in the two economies and the concomitant similarities or divergencies be explained? Third, what are the consequences of the restructuring process for the two economies? How are these processes shaped by the shared histories of Hong Kong and Singapore as colonial port cities, their current status as NICs “squeezed” between industrialized western societies and the Third World, and their role as important regional cities in East and Southeast Asia?

As the global economy becomes ever more interconnected, what role will North American cities play? What challenges will North American cities encounter as they become more integrated in the world economy? The contributors to this groundbreaking volume examine these questions and offer a candid analysis of urban economics in a global age. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, contributors address such salient issues as the politics of international engagement, planning strategic linkages between cities, cross-border interaction and networking in North America, wage polarization, and urban competitiveness. Scholars and students in the fields of urban studies, economics, international studies, and urban planning will find this an invaluable resource. In addition, this volume will also serve a key resource for city practitioners.

Competitive Citites is an assessment of the way in which `partnership', a word much used by politicians, has helped to shape the economic futures of four cities on both sides of the Atlantic - Atlanta, Toronto, Birmingham and Rotterdam.