According to 'Global Business Cities Index' of January 2022, which of the following is the top business city in the world ?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — A, Hong Kong. In the Global Business Cities Index published in January 2022 — a ranking compiled by the data firm Statista, not by any government or UN body — Hong Kong stood first with the benchmark score of 100. The rest of the top four followed close behind: London 95.08, Paris 94.63 and Frankfurt 90.71, with Amsterdam, Tokyo, Singapore and Oslo filling out the top eight. The scores matter as much as the order here, because they show how tight the field is: barely ten points separate the first city from the eighth, so this is pure recall of a published table rather than something a candidate can reason out. Note the anchor — the question means the ranking as it stood at the June-2022 exam; a ranking of this kind is re-issued and its order should not be carried forward to later years.

Why the other options are wrong — (b) Paris was third, with a score of 94.63 — inside the top four but behind both Hong Kong and London. It is a tempting answer because Paris is the most obvious 'European business capital' name in the list, but the index did not put it first.  (c) Frankfurt was fourth, at 90.71 — the last of the four options in the index's own order. Frankfurt's reputation rests on being the seat of the European Central Bank and Germany's financial centre, which makes it a strong finance city but not the leader of this particular ranking.  (d) London was second, at 95.08, and is the closest thing to a trap in this question — it is the answer most candidates give, and it is genuinely first in several other city rankings. In this index, published in January 2022, it finished just under five points behind Hong Kong.

Concept: A large family of 'global city' rankings scores cities on business environment, connectivity, infrastructure, talent and cost of living, and they disagree with one another because they weight those things differently. The Global Business Cities Index referred to here is one such ranking, put out in January 2022 by the data company Statista; its top place went to Hong Kong. Knowing who publishes an index is as important as knowing its result, because state exams frequently ask the publisher rather than the rank — and because a ranking from a private data firm carries different weight from one issued by the World Bank or the UNDP.

State PCS 2022 Q23 — Current Affairs PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2022 Q23 — Current Affairs PYQ with Answer