The Urban Hierarchy
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From World Urbanization Prospects 1999 - United Nations
The urban hierarchy
Undoubtedly one of the major changes taking
place in the distribution of the world population
over the past two centuries is the concentration of
large numbers of people in relatively small, highly
urbanized areas known as urban agglomerations.
Over the course of the twentieth century, the
population of certain urban agglomerations grew
to levels unprecedented in human history. Thus, it
is estimated that by 2000 a total of 19 urban agglomerations
had at least 10 million inhabitants
each, so that the population of a single one of
them surpassed the total population of countries
such as Hungary, Portugal or Sweden. For that
reason, such populous urban agglomerations have
become known as mega-cities. Yet, despite their
size and importance, mega-cities still account for
a relatively small share of both the world population
and the world urban population. In 2000 the
total population in the 19 mega-cities constituted
4.3 per cent of the world population and 9.2 per
cent of the urban population (tables 48 and 49)
and, although the number of mega-cities is expected
to rise to 23 by 2015, they will jointly account
for 5.2 per cent of the world total population
and 9.8 per cent of the urban population at that
time.
From
World Urbanization Prospects 2001 - United Nations
The urban hierarchy
From
World Urbanization Prospects 2003 - United Nations
The urban hierarchy
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| Agglomeration Economies |
March 2006
Agglomeration economies and
the location of Foreign Direct Investment: quasi-experimental evidence
from Romania
Christian A. L. Hilber and Ioan Voicu
How important are agglomeration
economies for the location of foreign manufacturing
plants? We investigate this question by combining innovations from
previous studies and by
taking advantage of a quasi-experimental setting: the political and
economic transition in
Romania. The recent, sudden and sustained influx of foreign investors
into Romania provides an
ideal setting to disentangle agglomeration economies from endowment
effects. Using a countylevel
conditional logit set-up that controls for choice-specific fixed
effects and endowment
effects, we find that external economies from industry-specific foreign
agglomeration and
service agglomeration are important location determinants. Increases in
the number of foreign
plants and in service employment density by 10 percent make the average
county 2.2 and 6.2
percent more likely to attract a new foreign investor. Local labor
market conditions also matter.
Our findings suggest that results are sensitive to the choice of
geographical unit of observation
and the inclusion of locational fixed effects.
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Economies of scope and economies of
agglomeration:
The Goldstein-Gronberg contribution revisited
John B. Parr - 2004
Department of Urban Studies, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ,
U.K.
Following on from the work of
Goldstein and Gronberg, it is
argued that under certain conditions, internal economies of scope form
the
bases for two types of agglomeration economy. These differ from two
better
known types, which are based on internal and external economies of
scale. A
further two types of agglomeration economy are shown to derive from
particular
forms of external economy. Attention is then given to the conditions
under which economies of scope may be accompanied by either
agglomeration
economies or agglomeration diseconomies, both internal to the firm. The
discussion is extended to the setting of a simple urban system, where
agglomeration economies and diseconomies internal to the firm may each
exist alongside agglomeration economies or diseconomies deriving from
externalities. A scheme is then outlined, in which the various types of
agglomeration economy are drawn together within a common framework.
|
Prepared
for the Blackwell Companion to Urban Economics - April 13, 2004
The Micro-Empirics of Agglomeration Economies
Stuart S. Rosenthal and William C. Strange
This chapter considers evidence on the
spatial concentration of economic activity. Two kinds of
concentration are considered: the agglomeration of population into
cities and the clustering of
industries into specialized regions. The chapter considers the
productivity advantages of city
size and industrial concentration. It also looks at the geographic and
organizational dimensions
of these externalities, as well as their sources. In the course of
this, the chapter discusses
methodological issues that pertain to this kind of measurement. It
concludes with implications
for public policy.
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Agglomeration Economies and the
High-Tech Computer
Nancy E. Wallace and Donald Walls
This paper considers the effects of
agglomeration on the production decisions
of firms in the high-tech computer cluster. We build upon an
alternative definition
of the high-tech computer cluster developed by Bardhan et al. (2003)
and
we exploit a new data source, the National Establishment Time-Series
(NETS)
Database, to analyze the spatial distribution of firms in this
industry. An essential
contribution of this research is the recognition that high-tech firms
are
heterogeneous collections of establishments. We explicitly model the
kinship
relationships between the headquarters and establishments of these
firms and
account for their endogenous production technology choices using
controls for
the spatial and functional configurations of each firm’s establishment
locations.
The empirical results, from our preferred specification of a random
parameters
restricted maximum likelihood (REML) production function, are broadly
consistent with several recent theoretical models of supply chain
management
under incomplete contracting (Combes and Duranton (2003), Almazan et
al.
(2003), and Rotemberg and Saloner (2000)). We find statistically
significant
and economically meaningful localization effects on high-tech firms’
labor input
technology arising from MSA-level proximity to workers in computer
services
Standard Industrial Classifications (SICs) and establishment-level
geographic
interactivity. We also find that localization effects have economically
significant
impacts on the elasticities of other purchased inputs. The channels for
these
effects are again access to large computer services labor markets and
geographically
dispersed networks of establishments. Our empirical results indicate
that
there are few benefits associated with firm locations in labor markets
with large
numbers of employees in the computer manufacturing sectors. This
negative
result may reflect the culmination of recent trends in out-sourcing
manufactured
inputs to distant offshore subsidiaries. Finally, we uncover
considerable
heterogeneity in the production technologies exploited by firms in the
high-tech
computer cluster, although in general, the production technology of
this industry
is characterized by constant returns to scale.
|
Agglomeration Economies:
The Spark That Ignites a City?
Satyajit Chatterjee
In industrially developed countries,
employment is heavily concentrated in cities.
A concentration of workers and businesses
in one location — what economists call
agglomeration economies — lowers production costs.
In fact, most economists believe that in the absence of
agglomeration economies, the spatial distribution of
employment would be much more even. In this article, Satyajit
Chatterjee discusses his research, which questions this belief. He
finds that while agglomeration economies are an important factor,
they’re not the most important one. The combined effects of factors
unrelated to
agglomeration economies, such as the availability of
natural resources and local economic policies, appear to account for
the bulk of the spatial concentration of U.S. employment.
The bulk of an industrially developed country’s economic activity
takes place in cities. Typically, these cities make up a relatively
small portion of the country’s overall territory.
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Natural clusters: Why policies promoting
agglomeration are unnecessary
PDF file
Philippe Martin, Thierry Mayer and Florian Mayneris - 4 July 2008
Governments spend heavily on
industrial clusters. They are wasting their money if firms naturally
cluster to reap agglomeration gains. This column presents evidence from
France that questions policymakers’ enthusiasm for promoting clusters.
Policymakers love to promote industrial clusters. Since the end of the
1980s, national and local governments in Germany, Brazil, Japan, South
Korea, Spanish Basque country, and France, inter alia, have attempted
to foster their development. And they haven’t done it on the cheap –
the French government recently devoted €1.5 billion to “competitiveness
clusters”. Why are politicians so keen on clusters and is the money
well spent?
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Urban Amenities or Agglomeration Economies?
Locational Behaviour and Entrepreneurial Success of Dutch Fashion
Designers
Rik Wenting, Oedzge Atzema & Koen Frenken - 2008
Urban economic growth and industrial
clustering is traditionally explained
by Marshallian agglomeration economies benefiting co-located firms. The
focus on firms rather than people has been challenged by Florida
arguing
that urban amenities and a tolerant climate attract creative people,
and the
firms they work for, to certain cities. We analyse to what extent these
two
mechanisms affect the locational behaviour of Dutch fashion designers.
On
the basis of a questionnaire, we find that urban amenities are
considered
more important than agglomeration economies in entrepreneurs’ location
decision. Designers located in the Amsterdam cluster do not profit from
agglomeration economies as such, but rather from superior networking
opportunities with peers both within and outside the cluster.
|
From the World Bank database
World Bank Discussion Paper No. 415
Facets of Globalization. International and local dimensions of
development
S. Yusuf, S. Evenett and J. Wei, editors
October 2001
The chapters in this volume underscore the transformative role of globalization,
urbanization and exo-urbanization and show
the interplay between these forces.
Trade reform and liberalized foreign investment regimes have
contributed to the spatial reallocation of economic activity toward
cities, especially those cities that can attract and nurture human
capital and strong connections to other markets.
Global factors have, therefore, reinforced agglomeration economies in
shifting economic clout toward cities, and in so doing they may be
exacerbating regional disparities in incomes.
|
World Development Report 2009
Spatial Disparities and Development Policy
Reshaping Economic Geography
Published
November 6, 2008
Growing cities, ever more mobile
people, and increasingly specialized products are integral to
development. These changes have been most noticeable in North America,
Western Europe, and Northeast Asia. But countries in East and South
Asia and Eastern Europe are now experiencing changes that are similar
in their scope and speed. World Development Report 2009: Reshaping
Economic Geography concludes that such transformations will remain
essential for economic success in other parts of the developing world
and should be encouraged.
Outline
Economic activity is
increasingly concentrated within countries. Across the world,
an estimated three quarters of economic production takes place in
cities; the more
dynamic coastal regions of China produce more than half of the
country’s GDP with less
than one fifth of its land area; and Greater Tokyo accounts for 40
percent of Japan’s total
output on just 4 percent of its land area. In the developing world,
this concentration has
been accompanied by sizeable—and by some accounts increasing—spatial
disparities in
living standards and welfare. Per capita income differentials within
countries in the
developing world tend to be much larger than equivalent differentials
within rich
countries. Paradoxically, in a world which is rapidly globalizing, one
of the most
important determinants of well-being is still where a person is born:
in which country, in
what province within the country, and whether in a city or the
countryside within that
province.
Read also
Reshaping Economic Geography
in East Asia
a companion volume to the World Development Report 2009.
It brings together noted scholars to address the spatial distribution
of economic growth in Asia. It reveals how the new economic geography
is reshaping development objectives: from initiatives to foster growth
via enhanced agglomeration and connectivity to the world economy, to
programs that channel resources to lagging regions. Key themes include
how East Asian governments have dealt with agglomeration economies,
urbanization, and regional disparities; improving connectivity with
infrastructure investments; and eliminating barriers both inside and
outside borders to favor the movement of labor, goods, and services.
This volume
will be of great interest to readers working in the areas of economic
policy, poverty reduction and urban-rural development strategies, and
transport-led infrastructure policy.
|
Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Research
Network
Centred in theGeography Department at Loughborough University,
this research network focuses upon the external relations of world
cities. Although the world/global city literature is premised upon the
existence of world-wide transactions, most of the research effort has
gone into studying the internal structures of individual cities and
comparative analyses of the same. Relations between cities have been
neglected by world cities researchers; the Globalization and World
Cities (GaWC) Research Network has been formed to aid in rectifying
this situation (see Multiple GaWCs - a brief introduction to the
multi-facetted nature of GaWC - and Formative
Missions for GaWC).
|
From The World Bank - 18 Sept. 2006
An East Asian Renaissance:
Ideas for Economic Growth
Advance Conference
Edition
East Asia – a region that has transformed itself since the financial
crisis of the 90s by creating more competitive and innovative economies
– must now turn to the urgent domestic challenges of inequality,
social cohesion, corruption and environmental degradation arising
from its success.
|
From the Asian Development Bank - 2006
Urbanization and Sustainability
in
Asia - 2006
Case Studies of
Good Practice
Edited by Brian Roberts and Trevor Kanaley
|
Cities
Alliance Annual Reports
|
From The Journal of Political Economy, Vol.
9, Issue 3 (June 1991), 483-499
Increasing returns and
economic geography
By Paul Krugman
|
P. Krugman, 1994:
Urban
concentration: the role of increasing returns and transport costs
Comment, A. M. Isserman
Comment, J. V. Henderson
Floor discussion
From "Proceedings of the World Bank Annual Conference on Development
Economics", 1994 |
World Urban Forum 2008
Seeks More Livable, Sustainable Cities
-- One in three city residents in developing countries lives in slums
-- World Urban Forum looks at how to manage rapid urbanization
-- New World Bank strategy to incorporate both environmental and energy
efficiency considerations into urban design
October 30, 2008— How can “heartbreaking” slums become cleaner, kinder,
greener places even as more and more people move to cities?
That’s a key question for policy-makers, development practitioners and
non-governmental organizations seeking sustainable solutions to urban
dilemmas at the World Urban Forum in Nanjing, China, November 3 to 6.
While cities have become engines of growth for developing countries and
a magnet for people seeking better economic opportunities, one in every
three city residents in developing countries now lives in a slum. The
highest-incidence of slum-dwellers (62 percent) is in Sub-Saharan
Africa, according to a new UN-Habitat report, “State of the World’s
Cities 2008/9: Harmonious Cities.”
A Billion People in Slums
“A billion people in the world live in slums today, and that in itself
is a startling fact,” says Abha Joshi-Ghani, Manager of the World
Bank’s Urban group. “The quality of life and livability of these areas
is really heartbreaking.”
Most people in slums don’t have drinking water, sanitation,
health, or education services, she says.
“While the poverty rate is generally higher in rural areas, the
actual number of poor is higher in urban areas” says Joshi-Ghani.
“Slums are a function of successful labor markets and failed land
markets.”
The problem could worsen if, as projected, three-quarters of the
world’s population is living in cities by 2013. About 90 percent of
urban growth is expected to take place in developing countries.
Poverty Increasingly Urban Phenomenon
Megacity Manila grew by 1.62 million people in seven years as people
migrated from rural areas.
“Poverty is increasingly an urban phenomenon,” says Chii Akporji,
Communications Officer of the Cities
Alliance, a coalition of cities and development partners including
the UN and World Bank whose secretariat is housed at the World Bank.
|
From Finance & Development
A
quarterly magazine of the IMF
September 2007 - Volume 44 Number 3
March of
the Cities
The Urban
Revolution
David E. Bloom and Tarun
Khanna
The year 2008 marks a watershed in the complex and ongoing urban
revolution. For the first time, more than 50 percent of the world's
people will live in urban areas. Rapid urbanization may prove a
blessing, provided the world takes notice and plans accordingly.
(pdf file: 732 kb)
Urban
Poverty
Martin
Ravallion
The poor are gravitating to towns and cities, but maybe not quickly
enough. A faster pace of urbanization could induce more rapid poverty
reduction. Development policymakers should facilitate this process, not
hinder it.
(pdf file: 299 kb)
Big, or
Too Big?
Ehtisham
Ahmad
Megacities create special issues of governance, funding, and provision
of services. Both national governments and megacities can secure
potential benefits by exploring the devolution of clearly defined
responsibilities and revenue-raising capacity that provide incentives
for good governance.
(pdf file: 279 kb)
Point of View
What Is
the Biggest Challenge in Managing Large Cities
Matthew
Maury, Kishore Mahbubani, and Ramesh Ramanathan and Swati Ramanathan
Three points of view on different ways to manage the expansion of
cities well .
(pdf file: 137 kb)
|
From
The World Bank - 18 Sept. 2006
An East
Asian Renaissance: Ideas for Economic Growth
Advance Conference
Edition
East Asia – a region that has transformed itself since the financial
crisis of the 90s by creating more competitive and innovative economies
– must now turn to the urgent domestic challenges of inequality,
social cohesion, corruption and environmental degradation arising
from its success.
|
Guiding Cities: The Urban Management Programme
Babar Mumtaz and Emiel Wegelin. (136 pages, May 2001)
The way that cities are managed and administered has a direct bearing
on their ability to support economic development and mitigate poverty.
Therefore all those concerned with either economic or with social
development should also be concerned with urban development and
management and how their actions impact on cities and vice versa. The
primary objective of this book is to provide a guide for those
concerned with economic or social development, as well as those
concerned more directly with urban development and management, to the
main issues and the range of options available to deal with them. The
presentation of issues and options is accompanied by examples of
practice generated by the Urban Management Programme in cities in
countries around the world.
The first section presents an overview of urbanisation and urban
management, setting out the processes by which cities grow and develop
and the role they play in human and economic development. Some of the
main trends and directions of policy advice and intervention are
introduced. This is followed by three sections looking at Urban
Governance, Urban Poverty Reduction and Urban Environmental Management.
Within each section are particular areas, ranging from leadership,
accountability and democracy through privatisation, partnership and
participation to vulnerability and social exclusion and integration, to
urban heritage protection. Within these, problems are summarised,
followed by an indication of some of the issues raised in addressing
them. Guidelines for Action are presented as a series of steps that
could be undertaken in order to confront the issues and resolve the
problems. These Guidelines draw upon the experience of the Urban
Management Programme, and case studies of (successful) interventions
are presented. There is a brief list of resources and documentation
that can provide further information and assistance.
|
From the data files of the World Bank
File 11910
The
economics of urbanization and urban policies in developing countries
- 1987
George S. Tolley and Vinod Thomas, editors
An Overview of Urban Growth: Problems, Policies, and Evaluation
----Patterns of Urbanization
----Urbanization and Economic
Development
----Sources of Future
Urbanization
----Economic Causes of Urban
Problems
----Urbanization Policy in
Market and Mixed Economies
----Urbanization Policy in a
Centralized Economy
----Concentration and
Decentralization Policies
----Addressing Urban Problems
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Economic opening and
industrial agglomeration in China
Zhao Chen, Yu Jin and Ming LuZhao - 2005
This paper explores the causes of
industrial agglomeration in China using the provincial panel data
during 1987-2001, focusing on the effects of economic opening. The
determinants of industrial
agglomeration are tested by controlling three types of factors, those
of economic policies, economic
geography and new economic geography, respectively. In summary, we
find: (1) Economic opening,
which is also related with geography and history encourages industrial
agglomeration; (2) Large
market size, effects of forward and backward linkage, high level of
urbanization, better infrastructure
and less involvement of local government tend to facilitate industrial
concentration; (3) Costal regions
have geographical advantage in attracting firms. These findings not
only support the new economic
geography theory from evidence within China, but also emphasize the
important role that policies like
economic opening might directly play in industrial agglomeration. The
most important policy
implication of this paper is that by quickening up the step of
integrating into world economy and
deregulating, even those less developed regions might accelerate
industrial agglomeration and thus
decrease regional disparity.
|
Environment and Urbanization
Globalization and cities
Volume 14 Number 1 April 2002
Publisher: International
Institute for Environment and Development
The articles may be reproduced free of charge provided the author is
acknowledged - Archive
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