Introduction

For a private firm, competitiveness is a relatively simple concept concerned with commercial performance or the ability to provide sufficient returns on capital to attract investment. For a city, competitiveness is more complex and multidimensional, not least because the various tiers and agencies of government responsible for promoting economic growth cannot neglect the implications for social welfare and the environment. The value of a firm to a city is determined not only by its current profitability and future growth prospects but also by factors such as the income it generates for residents through returns to labour, the quality of employment opportunities it offers, its impact on the physical environment and image of the city, and its contribution to the overall quality of life. A competitive city can be considered as one that can attract and retain suitable sorts of activity, defined in these economic, social and environmental terms, to meet the needs of its residents. Thus ‘competitiveness’ is not a simple technical concept, but involves trade-offs between a variety of interests.

This chapter examines the relative competitiveness of the two major Scottish cities, Edinburgh and Glasgow, focusing on economic and social dimensions and setting them within a UK context through comparisons with the major English conurbations. With a similar geographical setting on the periphery of an increasingly integrated Europe but very different histories, the Scottish cities have enjoyed contrasting economic fortunes over the past three decades. Edinburgh has been one of the most successful British cities, enjoying slow but steady growth and an international profile through its tourism, cultural and government activities. Glasgow has been an archetypal city of industrial decline. Part of the challenge is to get beyond the historic divergence to examine in more detail how they have performed in recent years. Glasgow has gained an international reputation as a city that has ‘remade’ itself into a post-industrial success story. Growth in service sector employment, a revitalised city centre and a series of one-off events have done much to change external (and internal) perceptions (Mooney and Johnstone, 1998; Pacione, 1995). As others have noted, however, reputations in regeneration are not always supported by evidence of a change in performance (Wolman et al, 1994). In addition, the aim of this chapter is to analyse the performance of each city on different dimensions.