delve more in depth into these issues of potential omitted variable biases, and expand the database to account for additional institutional variables at the city level. Similarly, in future research it will be desirable to include proxies for economic output or productivity at the city level (there is a limited database for city product per capita by the UN, which suitably expanded and updated could be used for instance. Simple plotgrams with these limited dataset does suggest that city product does improve with globalization, for instance (see Léautier, Mehta, and Saito, 2004).<sup>20</sup>

# **7.3 Policy Implications**

The analysis we have done has provided empirical evidence on many observations and statements made in the past by experts in the field, prior to the gathering and analysis of a data. From this perspective, a number of policy conclusions emerge.

First, our results are suggestive on the importance of focusing on country-wide governance, thereby tapping into economic benefits for the country at large but also providing a platform for cities to benefit from such environment-wide improvements. This suggests that reformist majors have an incentive to promote good governance at the national level (given the large externalities for the city). Further, International Financial Institutions (IFIs, such as the World Bank) and donors ought to continue to monitor and assess in some detail, how countries are faring with respect to governance at the national level. This makes sense not only from a country-wide performance standpoint, but also to point to ways of improving city-level performance.

Second, our framework and evidence also points to the fact that improving governance at the city level allows cities to translate global opportunity into local value for their citizens. This implies that reformist city leaders do have important local policy and institutional levers at their disposal: governance at the local level matters significantly for urban performance. Similarly, this finding suggests that donor agencies could focus more on supporting improvements in city level governance.

Finally, it is important to work with cities to support their globalization process and status. In this context, the interface between globalization, technology and governance deserves attention. In practical terms, web-related transparency and information outreach innovations are worthy illustrations, such as placing procurement and the budget on the city website, as well as a one-stop information and licensing ‘e-window’ for business start-ups. In this context, it may also be important to have a set of incentives and strategies for cities to network with other cities to tap into global opportunities that will benefit a given city.<sup>21</sup>

> 20 Other areas of investigation could include looking at the influence of diaspora networks on the governance of a city, as well as the influence of NGO movements for instance on human rights, environment, and corporate social responsibility issues within the context of the city, and its links to public governance. Further, expanding on the research on the interface between technology choices, governance and city performance also appear to be a promising line of inquiry from an empirical standpoint, which will be addressed in forthcoming research.

> 21 This would imply that IFIs such as the World  Bank work with inter-city governance alliances and networks, such as the association of local governments and the city-to-city partnership, such as “Cities Alliance”.

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