Eighty-four percent of cities are reporting fiscal difficulties, the highest percentage since the group started doing surveys in 1985.

CNN: Obama shines stimulus spotlight on urban economy

More reforms could be taken from the World Bank publication Doing Business, which surveys 178 economies on everything from the ease of setting up legal businesses to enforcing contracts.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The World Bank has an economic research section that each year turns out a first-rate book called Doing Business, which surveys 175 economies on everything from how many licenses you need to start a business to enforcing contracts to securities transparency.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Power Asia Pacific reported last fall that initial quality of new Chinese models improved significantly in 2012 vs. 2011 and was the highest since the researcher started doing the new-car owner surveys there 13 years ago.

FORBES: Why Haven't Chinese Cars Come to USA?

According to university surveys which monitor what graduates are doing up to six months after they leave, 6, 000 failed to find a graduate-level job.

BBC: University graduates in job struggle