MoneyWeek map: the cities driving the global economy

published 13 February 2012

Cities are crucial to economic development. Economists increasingly argue that clustering, concentration, and density are as important as land, labour, and capital when it comes to shaping economic growth, reports US magazine The Atlantic.

This map shows the ten most economically powerful' cities, according to an index developed at the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto.

The index combines three key aspects of a city's economic influence: its economic output, its financial power (based on the Global Financial Centers Index), and innovation, based on the level of patent activity in the city. In each case, the icons highlight the most important drivers of each city's power.