Analysis of Leading Cities in Central Europe: Control of Regional Economy

Nowadays, one of the characteristic orientations in social science studies focusing on cities is the ranking of cities, as well as the definition of the world's leading cities (world cities, global cities) on the basis of various criteria. Central European countries are given just a minor role in these researches, particularly in comparison with German cities with their considerable economic performance. This analysis compares the large cities of Austria, Germany and the countries of the Visegrád Group in terms of their role in economic leadership. To this end, the characteristic parameters have been examined: the GDP in purchasing power standards and nominal GDP of the cities, the revenues of large companies found in these cities, as well as the domestic market capitalization of the stock exchanges.