The foundation of metropolitan economic development is rapidly changing as international
trade and investment become more critical forces in national, regional, and urban
economic growth. Economic globalization will require metropolitan areas to create
a business climate that supports and attracts internationally competitive firms and
industries. Conventional approaches to urban economic analysis focus primarily on
the internal characteristics of metropolitan areas and treat international marker
trends as exogenous variables when they are taken into consideration at all. The Metropolitan
International Competitiveness Assessment Model (MICAM) examines an urban region's
strengths and weaknesses in the context of international trade and investment requirements.
