GRAND RAPIDS San Francisco may rank as the most competitive knowledge economy in the world, but surprisingly the Grand Rapids metropolitan area ranked ninth in the world knowledge competitive index.
Innovation has been a hallmark of the Grand Rapids region and has been one of the contributors to this areas continuing economic success, said Right Place president Birgit Klohs. This region has evolved into an advanced manufacturing center producing everything from complex automotive parts to microchips and laboratory benches, and is an emerging center for life sciences and technology. Whats driving that change is the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of our business community.
The Right Place Program is a private economic development agency that heavily promotes West Michigan.
The world knowledge competitive index is developed by Robert Huggins Associates, a British-based economics consultant. The index showed the top 14 knowledge economies were all in the United States. The index measures 19 knowledge economy benchmarks, including employment, patent registrations, research and development investment, education expenditure and information and communication technology infrastructure.
Boston moved up one place from last year to second place, followed by Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland in Michigan, then Seattle, Hartford and San Diego.
Only 10 regions outside the United States made it into the top 50, with Stockholm taking 15th place and Uusimaa in Finland 19th, rising by three and 18 places respectively from the previous year .
Coming in at number 38, Tokyo maintained its position as the highest-ranked region outside North America and Europe, and Huggins warned areas at the top of the list not to become complacent.
Regions of China, India and Eastern Europe dominate the bottom rankings of the index. Bangalore fared the worst, although its index score has increased by almost 300 per cent since last year, while Mumbai and Hyderabad were also at the bottom.
