WASHINGTON — Macau, the Chinese territory known for casino gambling, outperformed the rest of the world’s major cities economically last year, according to a report Thursday.
Cities in the developing world, especially China, dominated the top of the annual economic rankings of 300 cities worldwide by the Brookings Institution and JPMorgan Chase. One exception: Bangkok, Thailand, came in last, its economy wrecked by political strife.
Macau has enjoyed a tourism boom, with gamblers coming to bet at more than 30 casinos.
Cities in wealthy, developed countries tended to lag behind. Although most of the cities surveyed around the world have recovered from the Great Recession, 65 percent of European and 57 percent of North American cities have not, according to the study, which ranks cities by growth in employment and in economic output per person.
Three U.S. cities — Houston and Austin, Texas, and Raleigh, N.C. — cracked the top 50.