Raj Nallari

This primer on “Clusters of Competitiveness” provides a critical overview of competitiveness at many levels. Competitiveness is a broad subject with applications at the level of the firm, industry, region, nation, and global economy. Each one of these aspects has a rich literature drawn on by academics and policy makers over a long period. This book seeks to present a broad overview of the main ideas underlying competitiveness and its applications, highlighting and discussing in greater depth the topics that are of relevance currently. Specifically, the book draws out the experiences of and lessons for developing economies, and examines in detail the role for policy. Competition, competitiveness and growth are inherently linked and provide a compelling basis for policy analysis and recommendations. The authors begin by looking at competition and competition policy and the effects of these on economic growth, concentrating on product market regulation and finding that more stringent regulation is negatively associated with economic growth. Competition policy has an important role to play in promoting growth. They highlight the reasons why competition policy is critical for developing economies in the current era of globalisation and liberalisation. Moving on, they next provide an overview of competitiveness, highlighting its application to the firm, nation and global economy. The authors differentiate between price and non-price measures of competitiveness, examining the advantages and disadvantages of each and providing a clear guide to the non-price measures that have proliferated in the business literature in recent decades. They examine how the concept of national competitiveness has evolved and classify this according to price and non- price measures. Data from the International Institute for Management Development, the World Economic Forum and the World Bank are discussed, illustrating competitiveness rankings across countries over time. Turning to innovation, the authors emphasise its relationship to economic growth and competitiveness. The modern, knowledge-driven globalised economy is a product of innovation and competitiveness. Drawing on this, they next examine the necessary elements of an effective innovation policy in meeting the economic and social challenges of the modern age. This primer concludes with a critical overview of clusters and the stimulus for economic development at the local, regional and global level that arises from the connections between firms forming clusters. The authors look at cluster initiatives, which are organised efforts to increase growth and competitiveness within a region and are also a tool for government in pursuing policy reform.

"Since the 1990s, new economic geography has received a lot of attention as mainstream economists such as Krugman and others began to focus on where economic activity occurs and why. Coincidentally, international trade, location theory, and urban economics all appear to be asking the same question: where is economic activity located and why? The challenge is to explain the economic concentration or agglomeration of a large number of activities in certain geographical space. This volume breaks down the various types of cities and evaluates the key factors used to look at cities, such as innovation, green growth, spatial concentration, and smart cities in order to understand how cities work. Why is it that certain cities attract talent? How do some cities become business hubs? Why is it that few cities become increasingly competitive while others remain stagnant?

A primer on policies for jobs is based on materials and input provided during the labor market courses conducted during the past 10 years. Its objective is to provide government policy makers, researchers, and labor market practitioners and other specialists with a practical guide on how to strengthen labor market institutions, especially in light of the global financial crisis. This primer emphasizes six pillars of labor market institutions: global trends, job creation, labor market policies, education, entrepreneurship, and globalization. Chapter one addresses current labor market trends and job creation, particularly in tough conditions. Chapter two examines channels of job creation and ways to strengthen labor market institutions to ensure sustainable job growth, considering factors such as investment climate, job policy, industrial policy, social protection, and other labor market issues. Chapter three focuses on labor market policies in developing countries. Chapter four highlights the impact of education and skills on labor market outcome. Chapter five discusses entrepreneurship along three key dimensions: development and growth, job creation, and female entrepreneurship. Finally, chapter six addresses the relationship between jobs and globalization.

The global crisis of 2008-09 has brought to the forefront a plethora of economic and political policy issues. There is a re-opening of discussion on basic economic concepts, appropriate framework for analysis, role of private and public sectors in the economy, structural transformation of economies, human development and managing of growing risks and crises. The purpose of this book has been to bring home the inter-linkages in various parts of the economy and the need for practical policy making to reach development goals while being aware of the instabilities, complexities and downside risks inherent in the nature of a an economy operating in a globalized world. Thematically, this book focuses on two core types of policy: policies that promote strong, sustainable and inclusive growth in low income and middle income developing countries and new and emerging policies that necessitates a discussion amongst policy makers and practitioners. Throughout the book, the authors provide insight in to the different types of policy approaches that can be taken to help the economy grow. Ultimately the book looks to foster discussion amongst policy makers on growth and development.