Henderson, Vernon
How Urban Concentration Affects Economic Growth Henderson, Vernon [electronic resource] / Henderson, Vernon - Washington, D.C., The World Bank, 1999 - 1 online resource (48 p.) - Policy research working papers. World Bank e-Library. .
,000, before declining. If the largest city in a country is a port, increased trade leads to increased urban concentration. Otherwise, increased trade leads to deconcentration as markets in the hinterland open up to trade. But trade effects are modest. Similarly, more political decentralization (or increased federalism) only modestly reduces urban concentration. However, interregional transport infrastructure - especially dense road networks - significantly reduce urban concentration, an effect that rises with income. This paper - a product of Infrastructure and Environment, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to analyze the role of economic geography and urbanization in the development process, particularly as influenced by infrastructure investment and political decentralization. The author may be contacted at vernon_henderson@brown.edu. April 2000 - If urban overconcentration really is an issue, it ought to affect economic growth rates in a robust, consistent fashion. And it does. Not only is there an optimal degree of urban concentration that varies with country income, but departures from optimal concentration result in substantial growth losses. Overconcentrated countries can reduce concentration by investing in interregional transport infrastructure - in particular, increasing the density of road networks. Henderson explores the issue of urban overconcentration econometrically, using data from a panel of 80 to 100 countries every 5 years from 1960 to 1995. He finds the following: At any level of development there is indeed a best degree of national urban concentration. It increases sharply as income rises, up to a per capita income of about
10.1596/1813-9450-2326
Capital
Consumers
Costs
Development
Economic Efficiency
Economic Geography
Economic Growth
Economic Theory and Research
Economies Of Scale
Economy
Emerging Markets
Externalities
Finance and Financial Sector Development
Financial Literacy
GDP
GDP Per Capita
Goods
Growth Rate
Health, Nutrition and Population
Income
Industrialization
Inequality
Labor Policies
Macroeconomics and Economic Growth
Marginal Benefits
Markets
Population Policies
Poverty Reduction
Private Sector Development
Pro-Poor Growth
Social Protections and Labor
Telecommunications
Transactions Costs
Transport
Transport Economics, Policy and Planning
Urban Development Policies and Strategies
Urban Housing and Land
How Urban Concentration Affects Economic Growth Henderson, Vernon [electronic resource] / Henderson, Vernon - Washington, D.C., The World Bank, 1999 - 1 online resource (48 p.) - Policy research working papers. World Bank e-Library. .
,000, before declining. If the largest city in a country is a port, increased trade leads to increased urban concentration. Otherwise, increased trade leads to deconcentration as markets in the hinterland open up to trade. But trade effects are modest. Similarly, more political decentralization (or increased federalism) only modestly reduces urban concentration. However, interregional transport infrastructure - especially dense road networks - significantly reduce urban concentration, an effect that rises with income. This paper - a product of Infrastructure and Environment, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to analyze the role of economic geography and urbanization in the development process, particularly as influenced by infrastructure investment and political decentralization. The author may be contacted at vernon_henderson@brown.edu. April 2000 - If urban overconcentration really is an issue, it ought to affect economic growth rates in a robust, consistent fashion. And it does. Not only is there an optimal degree of urban concentration that varies with country income, but departures from optimal concentration result in substantial growth losses. Overconcentrated countries can reduce concentration by investing in interregional transport infrastructure - in particular, increasing the density of road networks. Henderson explores the issue of urban overconcentration econometrically, using data from a panel of 80 to 100 countries every 5 years from 1960 to 1995. He finds the following: At any level of development there is indeed a best degree of national urban concentration. It increases sharply as income rises, up to a per capita income of about
10.1596/1813-9450-2326
Capital
Consumers
Costs
Development
Economic Efficiency
Economic Geography
Economic Growth
Economic Theory and Research
Economies Of Scale
Economy
Emerging Markets
Externalities
Finance and Financial Sector Development
Financial Literacy
GDP
GDP Per Capita
Goods
Growth Rate
Health, Nutrition and Population
Income
Industrialization
Inequality
Labor Policies
Macroeconomics and Economic Growth
Marginal Benefits
Markets
Population Policies
Poverty Reduction
Private Sector Development
Pro-Poor Growth
Social Protections and Labor
Telecommunications
Transactions Costs
Transport
Transport Economics, Policy and Planning
Urban Development Policies and Strategies
Urban Housing and Land