Comparative Study of the Regional Competitiveness of Semarang City and Surakarta City in Central Java Province

The study aims to analyze the comparison of the level of regional competitiveness in the Central Java province, the cause of differences in the level of regional competitiveness and regional potential to increase competitiveness in Semarang city and Surakarta city. The study was conducted in 2018. The research method used was descriptive qualitative with purposive sampling data collection method. The research results showed that the level of competitiveness of Semarang city included a high category with an index of 4,963, the highest value on the health pillar and the lowest value on the infrastructure pillar. While the level of competitiveness of Surakarta city is in the medium category with an index of 4,536, the highest value on the market size pillar and the lowest value on the infrastructure pillar. The determinants of regional competitiveness are seen from the enabling environment aspect, aspects of human resources, market aspects and aspects of the innovation ecosystem. Semarang city has a comparative advantage in terms of human resources while Surakarta city in aspects of the market. This comparative advantage can be used to accelerate regional development in order to improve regional competitiveness.