Austin, Texas first among U.S. Cities

Austin recently ranked first among all U.S. cities and 26th among all cities in the world based on the strength of business performance during the 2009-2010 recovery period. 

Some highlights from the Brookings Institution 52-page Global Metro Monitor report are below...

The global financial crisis of the late 2000s precipitated an economic downturn of such magnitude and reach that many now refer to the period as the “Great Recession.” According to the International Monetary Fund, global economic output, which had grown at an annual rate of 3.2 percent from 1993 to 2007, actually shrank by 2 percent from 2008 to 2009. A precarious economic recovery is now underway.

The Global Economy is Led by Metropolitan Economies

The 150 metropolitan economies profiled in the Global MetroMonitor exhibit highly diverse stages of development. Their per capita measures of Gross Value Added (GVA) range widely, from under $1,000 in Hyderabad and Kolkata, India, to roughly $70,000 in San Jose, U.S.A. and Zurich, Switzerland.

What is consistent about these metropolitan areas, however, is their function as locations for high-value economic activity in their respective nations and world regions. Nearly four in five boast average incomes (as proxied by per capita GVA) that exceed averages for their nations. This is particularly true in rapidly emerging areas of Eastern Europe and Asia, where major metro incomes exceed those for nations by average margins of at least 90 percent.

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The Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program’s MetroMonitor, tracks the economic performance of U.S. metro areas over the course of the recession and recovery, the Brookings Institution and LSE Cities at the London School of Economics partnered to produce this Global MetroMonitor, which examines data on economic output and employment in 150 of the world’s largest metropolitan economies, located in 53 countries on six continents.

The full report may be found here.
Trade statistics for Austin can be found here.