Conway Inc. Releases The World’s Most Competitive Cities 2017

Press Release

Conway Inc. Releases The World’s Most Competitive Cities 2017

ATLANTA, May 8, 2017 — Site Selection magazine publisher Conway Inc., in concert with data and analysis contributors EY and Oxford Economics, has published the 2017 edition of The World’s Most Competitive Cities, a unique index of recent economic development success and future potential in metro areas across the globe.

Combining real-world project data with focused area analysis — including additional insights from Tractus Asia — the report measures city performance across 12 business sectors central to national and regional economies. At the report’s center is Conway Inc.’s proprietary Conway Projects Database, which tracks private-sector corporate facility investments worldwide.

“As they have since we launched the database years ago, those projects sketch out a landscape where dirt is turning, steel is going up and people are being hired,” said Adam Bruns, managing editor of Site Selection magazine and lead editor for the report.

To this data from thousands of investments the report adds real-world analytics to fill in the landscape of location decision-making with the colors, shades and textures that make certain geographies stand out for their attractiveness. The result is a measure of global metro-area competitiveness unlike any other.

“The results confirm that labor cost and quality continues to be a key driver of investment location decisions,” said Andrew Phillips, a principal in the Quantitative Economics and Statistics group of Ernst & Young LLP, a provider of global economic forecasts and economic analysis. “Additionally, companies continue to seek out locations with competitive business tax climates and a strong innovation ecosystem.”

“The report demonstrates that talent and investment continue to flow disproportionately to the most globally connected cities” said Dan Levine, practice leader, Location Strategies, at Oxford Economics, a firm whose models forecast economic performance in 200 countries, 100 industries and over 3,000 cities and regions.  “The result is that these cities often have growth rates that are well in excess of their respective national economies.”

Perched in some cases between presumed risk and perceived opportunity, some results in the rankings may raise an eyebrow. So too might some of the statistics and insightful quotes assembled in spotlights on the cities that appear most frequently at the top of the sectoral rankings.

“Though based on where real projects have occurred, the report is a forward-looking exercise, due to the need for long-term thinking by corporate leaders — even as their project completion timelines seem to grow shorter with each passing year,” said Bruns. “Nothing can replace seeing a city for yourself. But the right sort of guide can give you a concise lay of the land before you get there. We hope this report proves a valuable tool in shaping influential readers’ perspectives on global location decision-making.”