We are pleased to announce the establishment of the Adam Smith Research Foundation’s Research Programme for 2014-16, which concerns the theme of Social Precarity.

There are numerous rankings and indexes intended to summarise the comparative performance of cities around the world. They vary widely in their purpose, thematic focus, scope, data sources and methods. As a consequence their results are not always consistent, and it is often not clear what actions cities need to take if they wish to improve their position.