Editorial Staff

Pioneer Report Offers Framework for Improving Greater Boston’s Global Competitiveness

/in , , , /by Editorial Staff
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

BOSTON – Today, Boston is a fixture in rankings of the world’s top 40 “global cities.” But to become even more attractive to international companies and investors, Boston-area leaders must work to improve housing and healthcare affordability, transportation infrastructure, economic development policies, and education, according to a new study from Pioneer Institute.

Read the Report

“Over recent decades, our world-renowned colleges and universities have played a catalytic role in driving Greater Boston’s ecosystem of innovation in finance, healthcare, and technology,” said Pioneer Executive Director Jim Stergios. “Pioneer’s new report, Greater Boston as a Global Competitor, identifies those areas and provides useful metrics to help Massachusetts formulate a strategy to become an even more attractive place for innovators and talent.”

In 1991, sociologist Saskia Sassen defined a ‘global city’ as including “highly concentrated command points in the organization of the world economy.” Since then, top consulting and research organizations such as Kearney and the Institute for Urban Strategies have issued numerous reports on the concept.

Drawing from these and other “global cities” rankings, Pioneer synthesized dozens of economic, lifestyle, and governance indicators into five categories of importance to Boston’s profile in the international competition for talent and investment: Education, Economics, Innovation and R&D, Healthcare, and Transportation.

“Policymakers as well as the region’s private and public education institutions made important decisions that helped support the rapid development of key world-leading industries in Massachusetts,” said Andrew Mikula, author of the Pioneer study. “Increasing Boston’s standing on the global stage will require that today’s policymakers work hard to maintain our strengths and apply them to new and pressing challenges.”

Many of the region’s shortcomings as a global competitor concern issues of equity, accessibility, and efficiency, whether in education, transportation, housing, or the labor market.

Despite having public schools that are among the nation’s highest performers overall, Massachusetts can still use education to more effectively foster civic engagement and close persistent income- and race-based achievement gaps.

Pioneer’s study builds off the framework of existing rankings to identify constructive actions the region can take to serve its unique needs, illustrating the importance of competitiveness metrics in a still-growing region.

About the Author

Andrew Mikula is the Lovett & Ruth Peters Economic Opportunity Fellow at the Pioneer Institute. Research areas of particular interest to Mr. Mikula include urban issues, affordability, and regulatory structures. Mr. Mikula was previously a Roger Perry Government Transparency Intern at the Institute and studied economics at Bates College.

About Pioneer

Pioneer Institute is an independent, non-partisan, privately funded research organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Massachusetts through civic discourse and intellectually rigorous, data-driven public policy solutions based on free market principles, individual liberty and responsibility, and the ideal of effective, limited and accountable government.

Get Updates on Our Economic Opportunity Research

Related Content

Visit MassEconomix: Analyze local, regional, and state data on employment, business, and industry trends

Massachusetts Releases New Permanent Regulations for MBTA Communities Act

The April edition of The House Call provides an update regarding the MBTA Communities Act's implementation, with some communities amending their zoning via either referendum votes or Town Meeting this spring. The newsletter also includes a discussion of communities that have eliminated minimum parking requirements in recent years.

Historical Domestic Migration Patterns: Putting Massachusetts in Context

This week's edition of Mapping Mass Migration features an analysis of newly released data from the Census Bureau, its March supplement of the Current Population Survey. Our analysis covers how migration trends have played out nationally since 1948, including the demographics of movers, the extent of their migration (within a county, across counties, to another state, etc.), and the most common reasons movers cite for changing their primary residence. The newsletter concludes with a brief discussion of what might account for a decline in overall migration rates nationally and where Massachusetts fits in.

Pioneer Institute Study Finds Outdated U.S. Immigration System Delays Creation of 150,000 Businesses and 500,000 Jobs

Global competitors seizing opportunities to attract top talent

The House Call – Cambridge Adopts a Zoning Ordinance Allowing 4 to 6-Story Residential Buildings Citywide

The March edition of The House Call covers recent zoning changes in Cambridge that allow 4 to 6-story buildings on every residential lot. It also summarizes reform recommendations from a state commission tasked with advising the Healey administration on how to ramp up housing production.

Study: Inclusionary Zoning Helps Some, but Can Jeopardize Broad-Based Affordability

Policies often force developers to raise market-rate prices to compensate for losses on affordable units

Pioneer Institute Study Says MA Housing Permitting Process Needs Systemic Reform

Highlights Bureaucratic licensing process and appeals as areas to fix

Mapping Mass Migration – New 2024 Census Estimates Show Surge in Population Growth, With Considerable Caveats

This week's edition of Mapping Mass Migration will cover 2024 state population estimates and components of change from the Census Bureau, how trends are impacting Massachusetts, and an analysis of how a methodological change significantly impacted their estimates for net international migration from 2022 to 2024 and what that means for the number and demographic backgrounds of immigrants captured in the data.

Study Finds Bump in State Population Due to Changes in Census Bureau Methodology

BOSTON – State leaders cheered in January when the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that Massachusetts’ population grew by 69,000 in 2024, more than at any other time in 60 years. Unfortunately, a closer look reveals that the higher estimates are largely driven by a change in Census Bureau methodology designed to better capture the influx of humanitarian migrants.  

The House Call – Accessory Dwelling Units are Officially Legal Statewide in Massachusetts

This issue of The House Call covers Massachusetts' recent legalization of accessory dwelling units, as well as a bill filed in the state legislature last month that would broadly prevent localities from enforcing certain housing-related regulations.