March 19, 2007
In Dueling Financial Studies, Fuel for New York-London Rivalry
By PATRICK McGEEHAN
Engaging in their own form of March madness, New York City and London are each proclaiming to have come out on top when matched up against a group of world capitals.
City officials from London and business leaders from New York brandished dueling studies on the global competitiveness of their hometowns, whose rivalry for the title of business capital of the world has been intensifying in the past few years.
A study commissioned by the Partnership for New York City found that New York ranked first in “financial clout,” ahead of London, Paris, Tokyo and seven other big cities. But a separate survey commissioned by the City of London concluded that London had surpassed New York as a global financial center.
London’s survey said that the two cities stood apart from all other big cities, but that London had edged ahead of New York, said Mark Yeandle, a consultant with Z/Yen, a London firm that produced the survey. New York lost points because the American system of financial regulation is viewed as more complex and onerous than England’s.
“I can understand if you New Yorkers got a little sensitive because New York was well ahead and now London has caught up,” Mr. Yeandle said in an interview.
But Kathryn S. Wylde, chief executive of the Partnership for New York City, a group of corporate executives, scoffed at that claim.
“We have long held the title, and they’re the Avis, trying harder,” Ms. Wylde said, referring to the car-rental company and its slogan.
To support her position, Ms. Wylde pointed to a report the partnership commissioned from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the international consulting and accounting firm. That report, scheduled for release this week, found that New York ranked first among 11 world capitals on three out of nine measures of competitiveness, while London, Paris and Tokyo were among the cities that ranked first in one category each.
On financial clout, which included the number of corporate headquarters and jobs in financial and business services, New York was first and London was second, according to the report. New York also ranked first for its transportation assets but seventh for its relative costs. The New York report did allow the British one victory: It ranked London first and New York fourth on intellectual capital, which included the numbers of college graduates and Nobel Prize winners in each city.
Michael J. Snyder, chairman of London’s Policy and Resources Committee, said his city conducted a lot of research, and “if some of it comes out saying we’re No. 1, well, it says we’re No. 1.” But, he added, “I’m certainly not trying to engage in any sort of who’s biggest and who’s best.”