This paper examines the effects of urbanization on development and growth. It begins with a
labor market perspective and emphasizes the importance of agglomeration economies, both …

The relationship between urbanization and development is a vital policy concern, especially
in Africa and Asia. This paper reviews the arguments and evidence for whether rapid urban …

Urbanization and growth go together: no country has ever reached middleincome status
without a significant population shift into cities. Urbanization is necessary to sustain (though …

Why is productivity higher in cities? Does urbanization cause growth or does growth cause
urbanization? Do countries achieve rapid growth or high incomes without urbanization …

Policy makers and academics frequently emphasize a positive link between city size and
economic growth. The empirical literature on the relationship, however, is scarce and uses …

Why do cities grow in population, surface area, and income per person? Which cities grow
faster and why? To these questions, the urban growth literature has offered a variety of …

This chapter on urbanization and growth focuses on modeling and empirical evidence that
pertain to a number of inter-related questions. Why do cities form in an economy, with so …

This paper starts with a “primer” on what we know about the conceptual and empirical links
between development and urbanization. While historical experience of developed countries …

This is a study of the economics of development and urbanization. Its two principal themes
are 1) that simple economic factors explain the spatial location of populations and industries …

Rapid urbanisation is a major feature of developing countries. Some 2 billion more people
are likely to become city residents in the next 30 years, yet urbanisation has received little …