The World Bank Group has released a report, Competitive Cities for Jobs and Growth: What, Who, and How, which analyses cities to understand factors what improve their competitiveness in order to support growth and productivity. The idea behind the analysis, which began in January 2014, is to provide strong and practical evidence for policymakers, so that they may address long-standing urban challenges such as poverty and unemployment.
The ongoing rise of urbanisation has led to cities growing faster than their national economy, which was observed in three-fourths of the 750 global cities analysed by the team. Emphasis was placed largely on the private sector for securing growth; leaders are encouraged to support, attract, retain and develop the private sector to ensure increased competitiveness.