Cities facing economic development challenges: The case of the Mexico City Metropolitan Area

Metropolitan areas are becoming more and more common around the world. While such areas are increasingly concentrating economic opportunities, they also face great economic development obstacles. Whereas the urban development community recognizes the need to build the capacities of local civil society, policymakers, and leaders to improve the performance of urban economies, the predominant paradigm assumes that a metropolitan city's success or failure depends mostly on its ability to attract and retain employment and global mobile capital. However, whether and how cities can exercise agency to control their economic fate remains an open question. This chapter identifies the most significant challenges to cities becoming more productive and innovative and promoting value creation, entrepreneurship, business formation, and decent jobs. I use Mexico and its largest metropolitan area - the Mexico City Metropolitan Area - as a case study to discuss economic development challenges and solutions in large metropolises of the Global South.