Competitiveness and Growth in Brazilian Cities : Local Policies and Actions for Innovation

Given 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.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Zhang, Ming
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank 2010
Subjects:	ACTION PLANS, BENCHMARK, BENCHMARKING, BENCHMARKS, BEST PRACTICES, BEST-PRACTICE, BOUNDARIES, BRAIN, BRAIN DRAIN, BUREAUCRACIES, BUSINESS ACTIVITIES, BUSINESS DECISIONS, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS REGULATION, BUSINESS SERVICES, BUSINESSES, BUYERS, CENTRAL GOVERNMENTS, CITIES, COAL, COLLABORATION, COLLABORATIONS, COLLECTIVE ACTION, COMMODITY, COMMON GOOD, COMMUNICATION SKILLS, COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, COMMUNITIES, COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE, COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS, COMPETENCIES, COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE, COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES, COMPETITIVE EDGE, COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT, COMPETITIVENESS, COMPETITORS, CONNECTIVITY, CONSUMERS, COPYRIGHT, DATA COLLECTION, DECENTRALIZATION, DECISION MAKERS, DECISION MAKING, DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES, DEVELOPMENT POLICIES, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY, DISCUSSION, DISCUSSIONS, DOMAINS, E-MAIL, ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES, ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, ECONOMIC ANALYSIS, ECONOMIC COMPETITION, ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS, ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC OUTCOMES, ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE, ECONOMIC POLICIES, ECONOMIC RESEARCH, ECONOMIC STRUCTURE, ECONOMIC STRUCTURES, ECONOMIC SYSTEMS, ECONOMIC THEORY, ECONOMICS, ECONOMISTS, ELECTRICITY, ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY, EMAILS, EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE, EMPIRICAL RESEARCH, EMPLOYMENT CREATION, ENVIRONMENTAL, ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, EQUIPMENT, EQUIPMENTS, EXCHANGE RATE, EXPLOITATION, EXPORT PROMOTION, EXTERNALITIES, FEEDBACK MECHANISMS, FINANCIAL INSTITUTION, FINANCIAL SERVICES, FINANCIAL SUPPORT, FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT, GDP, GDP PER CAPITA, GLOBAL ECONOMY, GLOBALIZATION, GOVERNMENT POLICIES, GOVERNMENT POLICY, GOVERNMENT SERVICES, GRAPHICS, GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, GROWTH RATE, GROWTH THEORY, HIERARCHIES, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN INTERACTION, HUMAN RESOURCES, ICT, IDEAS, IDENTITY, INCOME, INCREASING RETURNS, INDUSTRIAL BASE, INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURE, INDUSTRIALIZATION, INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION, INFORMATION AGE, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION, INNOVATIONS, INTEGRATION, INTERMEDIATE GOODS, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, INVENTION, KNOWLEDGE FLOWS, KNOWLEDGE SHARING, KNOWLEDGE TRANSMISSION, LABOR PRODUCTIVITY, LEADING, LEARNING, LICENSES, LOCALIZATION, LOGIC, MACROECONOMIC STABILITY, MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, MANUFACTURING, MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES, MARGINAL COST, MARKET ECONOMY, MARKET OPPORTUNITIES, MARKET SHARE, MARKETING, MATERIAL, MULTILATERAL TRADE, NATURAL ENDOWMENTS, NATURAL RESOURCES, NEGATIVE EXTERNALITIES, NETWORKS, OIL, PER CAPITA INCOME, PER CAPITA INCOMES, PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, POLICY FRAMEWORK, POLICY MAKERS, POLITICAL SYSTEMS, POLLUTION, POSITIVE EFFECTS, POSITIVE EXTERNALITIES, POSITIVE FEEDBACK, POSITIVE FEEDBACK MECHANISMS, PRACTITIONERS, PRIVATE INVESTMENT, PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, PRIVATE SECTOR, PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT, PRIVATE SECTORS, PRODUCTION PROCESSES, PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH, PUBLIC GOODS, PUBLIC PARTICIPATION, PUBLIC UTILITIES, QUERIES, R&D, RECYCLING, REGISTRY, RESULT, RESULTS, SEMICONDUCTOR, SERVICE PROVIDERS, SIDE EFFECTS, SILICON, SITES, SKILLED LABOR, SMALL BUSINESS, SOCIAL CAPITAL, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, SPATIAL ECONOMICS, STRUCTURAL CHANGE, SUPPLY CHAINS, SUPPLY NETWORK, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, TACIT KNOWLEDGE, TARGETS, TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES, TELEPHONE, THINKING, TRADE LIBERALIZATION, TRANSMISSION, TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE, USES, VALUE CHAIN, VALUE CHAINS, VARIETY, VISION, WAGES, WEALTH, WEB, WORKFORCE, WORLD TRADE, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION,
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000333037_20091209234456 https://hdl.handle.net/10986/2690
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