Filling some black holes: modeling the connection between urbanization, infrastructure, and global service intensity in 112 metropolitan regions across the world

Abstract

This empirical article combines insights from previous research on the level of knowledge-intensive service in metropolitan areas with the aim to develop an understanding of the spatial structure of the global service economy. We use a stepwise regression model with GaWC’s measure of globalized service provisioning as the dependent variable and a range of variables focusing on population, infrastructure, urban primacy, and national regulation as independent variables. The discussion of the results focuses on model parameters as well as the meaning of outliers, and is used to explore some avenues for future research