Producer service firms as global city makers: the cases of Mexico City and Hamburg

Abstract

This chapter departs from an understanding of the global city model as an economic geography concept to comprehend the function and position of specific economic actors in certain cities in the management and, in particular, in the ‘command and control’ of the world economy. Because the global city literature has not advanced satisfactorily in deepening our understanding of the role of global cities in the world economy and, in particular, in the organization of globalization, the chapter suggests an operationalization of research on global city makers and their practices through the conceptualization of global cities as critical nodes in global commodity chains. To deepen this notion, the chapter discusses global city formation in two non-prime global cities, namely Mexico City and Hamburg.