Aspects of the rural-urban transformation of countries

Henderson, J. Vernon; Wang, Hyoung Gun

doi:10.1093/jnlecg/lbh052

Cited by 99 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…However, Lucas (2004) explicitly models rural-urban migration and the shift from a traditional technology (with no productivity growth) to a modern technology, by suggesting human capital has no productivity advantages in rural areas, but migrants invest in human capital in the urban sector because it is productivity enhancing. Henderson and Wang (2005) analyse a similar transition in a context where endogenous productivity growth through human capital formation is higher in urban than rural areas and the urban sector consists of an endogenous number of cities.…”

Section: The Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

The Development of the African System of Cities

Henderson

Kriticos²

2018

Annu. Rev. Econ.

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Sub-Saharan Africa has urbanised at tremendous speed over the last half century, in a process that has dramatically reshaped the economic and spatial profile of the region. Simultaneously, it has challenged much of the conventional empirical wisdom about how and why people move to cities. As we show in this article, the traditional view that countries urbanise alongside structural transformation is challenged in Africa, where urbanisation occurs despite low productivity in agriculture, very limited industrialisation, and a high share of primary sector employment across the urban hierarchy. There appear to be large household income gaps between urban and rural areas inducing migration, and these income premiums apply equally well to farm and non-farm families. Looking across the urban hierarchy, we also discuss how urban primacy can be problematic for economic growth in Africa, how secondary cities are lagging in industrial development, and how growth of employment in tradable services may signal a different path to structural transformation in Africa.JEL classifications: J00, J31, O13, O14, O18, O55, R00, R11.

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Section: The Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

The Development of the African System of Cities

Henderson

Kriticos²

2018

Annu. Rev. Econ.

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“…In his model, a fall in transport costs increases the size of the market for non-agricultural goods, and also -by lowering prices and raising real incomes -prompts a demand shift towards non-agricultural goods. Henderson and Wang (2005) construct a model of the rural-urban transformation which draws on dual economy ideas, but extended to consider the endogenous evolution of distinct cities, and allowing the formation of new cities. Michaels et al (2012) study the US evolution of populations in rural and urban areas from 1880 to 2000, explaining the observed patterns partly in terms of structural transformation.…”

Section: Growth With Limited Geographymentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional Growth and Regional Decline

Breinlich

Ottaviano

Temple

2014

Handbook of Economic Growth

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Since the early 1990s, there has been a renaissance in the study of regional growth, spurred by new models, methods and data. We survey a range of modelling traditions, and some formal approaches to the 'hard problem' of regional economics, namely the joint consideration of agglomeration and growth. We also review empirical methods and findings based on natural experiments, spatial discontinuity designs, and structural models. Throughout, we give considerable attention to regional growth in developing countries. Finally, we highlight the potential importance of processes that are specific to regional decline, and which deserve greater research attention.

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“…An area that receives less attention is the benefits from urban agglomeration economies and the growing interest in new economic geography (see Fujita, Krugman and Venables 2001). From this perspective, economic growth accelerates when resources or activities concentrate within geographic areas (Henderson and Wang 2005). Urbanization and industrial localization can generate positive externalities by situating producers closer to labour markets and customers, as well as to each other.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Cities or Towns Drive African Development? Economywide Analysis for Ethiopia and Uganda

Dorosh

Thurlow

2014

World Development

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Rapid urbanization is an important characteristic of African development and yet the structural transformation debate focuses on agriculture's relative merits without also considering the benefits from urban agglomeration. As a result, African governments are often provided conflicting recommendations on the importance of rural agriculture or urban industry. We develop dynamic economy-wide models for Ethiopia and Uganda that capture both traditional aspects of the debate (growth linkages and foreign trade) and benefits from urbanization (internal migration and agglomeration effects). Simulations suggest that urban agglomeration is an important source of long-term growth and structural transformation, but that investing in cities does not greatly reduce national poverty over the short-term. In this regard, agricultural growth is more effective, albeit with slower national growth. Given these trade-offs, we conclude that …/.

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Aspects of the rural-urban transformation of countries

Cited by 99 publications

References 19 publications

The Development of the African System of Cities

The Development of the African System of Cities

Regional Growth and Regional Decline

Can Cities or Towns Drive African Development? Economywide Analysis for Ethiopia and Uganda

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