February 27, 2006—A new book from the World Bank Institute, Cities in a Globalizing World: Governance, Performance, and Sustainability, launched this month in Washington, stresses that quality of governance can determine whether the burgeoning cities of the developing world can become global centers of opportunity or urban examples of over crowding and underachievement.  | Jose Gomez-Ibanez, Frannie Léautier, Alan Winters, Daniel Kaufmann at the book launch for Cities in a Globalizing World: Governance, Performance, and Sustainability in Washington, D.C. |
“Throughout history, cities have been the birthplace of globalization and the testing ground for governance and democracy,” says Frannie Léautier, World Bank Institute vice president and editor of the book. “They have played an important role in shaping global decisions on trade, diplomacy, culture, and government.” Today, globalization is becoming the driving force behind economic growth and development. With increased investment, both foreign and domestic, successful cities will need to meet new labor requirements, and provide security and access to services and urban infrastructure. “This will present enormous performance challenges to local governments,” says Leautier. “Good governance at the city level will be critical in turning the demands and opportunities of globalization to the advantage of all urban dwellers, including the urban poor, and in managing diversity.” In an interview with BBC’s TV World Business Report she also points out that urban managers will also need to deal increasingly with diversity. According to World Bank research, 55 percent of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2020. Almost 94 percent of the increase will occur in developing countries. This trend will reshape the world and make cities compete for a skilled labor force and potential investors. “In this scenario some cities will be less successful than others and that is what we should be looking at,” says L. Alan Winters, Director of DEC’s Research Group, who chaired the book launch. “Good governance and the efficient delivery of services will mean the difference between success and failure.” How do the pressures of globalization affect the quality of life in a city? What makes some cities prosper in this new environment, while others seem to stagnate? What are the effects of globalization on city performance such as local services for water and sewerage; networked services such as electricity and phone lines; and globalized services like cell phones and the internet?  | Marina Vasilieva, Frannie Léautier, Sergei Vasiliev at the book launch for Cities in a Globalizing World: Governance, Performance, and Sustainability at Robalt News Agency
(St. Petersburg, Russia) |
The book examines cases where the forces of globalization, urbanizations, and governance come together most successfully. For example, the researchers found that whether a city has a website with relevant and transparent information or not, makes a difference in the quality of its governance. Services tended to be better where citizens had access to information on the budget (a measure of transparency and accountability) or where information was available on how to start a business (a measure of transparency and responsiveness to firms). The authors indicate that good governance leads to better outcomes at the city level. “The book is intended to guide city managers on various ways of enhancing services and human resources, which will, in turn, attract trade, finance, and tourism to boost economic growth,” says Daniel Kaufmann, Director of Global Programs at WBI and a co-author of a chapter: “Global businesses favor cities with strong performance in infrastructure services and quality of life indicators, and there is evidence that good governance matters in the ability of cities to get local value from globalization.” Technology and globalization are closely linked. Technology can be used to improve governance and provide better services for city dwellers. For example, if citizens are able to provide their own services—such as a water-wells with treated water or a small solar panel for self-generating electricity—they put less pressure on city leaders to improve the performance of infrastructure services. Thus technology is seen to have the potential to provide both the enabling environment for “voice” as well as the competitive environment for “choice.” The book also focuses on African cities. Africa has experienced the most rapid urbanization the world has ever seen. More than 50 percent of Africans will live in cities in the next 20 years. “Currently over 150 million people live in slums without municipal services; and local authorities in Africa lack the appropriate resources and capacities to manage the rapid urbanization process,” says Sir Nicholas Stern, Head of Government Economic Service of the United Kingdom in the introduction to the book. “Any strategy for growth and poverty reduction must place urbanization centre stage.” Based on their findings the authors of Cities in a Globalizing World make some broad policy recommendations. For example, reforms should focus on improving national governance. Governance at the local level also matters significantly for urban performance, so reformist city leaders would be well advised to use the local policy and institutional levers at their disposal to translate global opportunity into local value for their citizens. In his commentary, Jose Gomez-Ibanez, Senior Adviser for Infrastructure in INFVP noted that “The authors have put together a very rich dataset from 412 cities in 134 countries. We knew that globalization and governance matters to successful economic development, but this book makes the point that cities matter as well."  | Book launch for Cities in a Globalizing World: Governance, Performance, and Sustainability in Washington, D.C. |
International financial institutions should continue to assess the quality of national governance in their member countries; and, together with those countries, should develop new institutions that can operate at local, regional, national, and multinational levels. Donor agencies could focus more on supporting improvements in city-level governance, for example, by helping to build the skills that city managers need to take advantage of the opportunities of globalization. The donor community can also contribute by working with city governments and intercity networks and partnerships to support their globalization and governance efforts. The authors stress that the collection of more and higher quality data is needed for better analysis which will, in turn, improve policy formulation in the field of urbanization. In order to reach the policy makers who will make the decisions affecting these urban populations around the world, WBI’s launch was designed around extensive international outreach. Cities in a Globalizing World was recently launched at the Rosbalt News Agency in cooperation with the Leontief Center for Social and Economic Research in St. Petersburg Russia. The book was also presented to students and faculty at the London School of Economics, and at the Tata Energy Resources Institute Sustainable Development Summit in Delhi. In England, the BBC’s TV World Business Report interviewed Leautier on issues of urban migration and ethnic diversity in cities. Other media included BBC Focus on Africa, OGlobo TV, Voice of America, the Star in South Africa, and the New Kerala, The Economic Times, and the Hindustan Times in India. For more information and to order this publication please click here and view the B-Span coverage of the book launch.
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