The 2008 edition of the World Knowledge Competitiveness Index (WKCI) is published today by the Centre for International Competitiveness at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC).
First published in 2002, the WKCI is the brainchild of Professor Robert Huggins of UWIC´s Cardiff School of Management and Dr Hiro Izushi of Aston Business School, and is the only composite and relative measure of the competitiveness of the knowledge economies of the world´s leading regions.
San Jose, the heart of California´s Silicon Valley heads the WKCI 2008, followed by the US regions of Boston, Hartford, Bridgeport, and San Francisco. The highest ranked non–US region is Stockholm in Sweden, which is in sixth position and climbs two places. Tokyo (9th) is the highest ranked region outside of North America and Europe, climbing 13 places.
Significant gains have been made by a number of Asian regions, with Singapore (27th), Kyoto (43rd), Taiwan (53rd) all moving rapidly up the rankings, and Shanghai now ranked above cities such as Berlin.
In Europe, regions in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands all show significant improvement in competitiveness. It is not all good news for Europe though, with London sliding 46 places to 102nd.
While Asian and European regions have seen a general improvement in their competitiveness, North American regions have seen an overall decline. Regions including New York, Atlanta, Washington, and Austin all fall significantly down the rankings to make way for the hotspots of Europe and Asia.
According to Professor Robert Huggins: "This year´s index highlights the emergence of a new world order of the most competitive knowledge bases. When we developed the first index in 2002 the US regions dominated. Although they still head the very top of the rankings their stranglehold is rapidly eroding as the balance of power in the knowledge economy becomes more evenly spread across the globe."
The WKCI is an integrated and overall benchmark of the knowledge capacity, capability and sustainability of 145 regions across the globe, and the extent to which this knowledge is translated into economic value, and transferred into the wealth of the citizens of these regions.
It utilises 19 knowledge economy benchmarks, including employment levels in the knowledge economy, patent registrations, R&D investment by the private and public sector, education expenditure, information and communication technology infrastructure, and access to private equity.
The WKCI is the only existing instrument that benchmarks regional performance at a global level, with the index comprising of 63 North American regions, 54 from Europe and 28 from Asia–Pacific.
Notes to Editors
1.Copies of the full WKCI report can be freely downloaded at http://www.cforic.org/pages/wkci2008.php.
