Despite its reputation locally as a difficult place to do business, Los Angeles is one of the top 10 cities in the world as a global center of commerce, according to a study released last week by MasterCard Worldwide.

Los Angeles ranked tenth on MasterCard’s index of centers of commerce, behind London, New York, Tokyo, Chicago and Paris, but ahead of places like Amsterdam, Boston, Sydney and Zurich.

The MasterCard index compares the world’s 50 leading cities against six metrics of their ability to connect markets and commerce globally. Los Angeles scored strongly in its economic stability ranking and in the “ease of doing business,” which includes quality of life.

“Los Angeles receives the highest possible score for its quality of life, recognizing the city’s variety of restaurants, climate and number of cinemas, sports and leisure activities,” the report said.

Among U.S. cities on the index, L.A. ranked third, behind New York and Chicago. Chicago leapfrogged L.A. because it has major financial exchanges and because its public transportation system scored the highest of any U.S. city.

But L.A. ranked second in all of North America behind New York in the business center ranking, which measures the flow of trade goods. The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach together comprise the fifth-largest port complex in the world and the largest in North America, while more cargo goes through Los Angeles International Airport than any other airport in North America, the report said.