Urbanization and Growth

• 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?
• How can policy makers reap the benefits of urbanization without
paying too high a cost?
• Does supporting urbanization imply neglecting rural areas?
• Why do so few governments welcome urbanization?
• What should governments do to improve housing conditions
in cities as they urbanize?
• Are innovations in housing finance a blessing or a curse
for developing countries?
• How will governments finance the trillions of dollars of infrastructure
spending needed for cities in developing countries?

First in a series of thematic volumes, this book was prepared for the
Commission on Growth and Development to evaluate the state of
knowledge of the relationship between urbanization and economic
growth. It does not pretend to provide all the answers, but it does identify
insights and policy levers to help countries make urbanization work
as part of a national growth strategy. It examines a variety of topics: the
relevance and policy implications of recent advances in urban economics
for developing countries, the role of economic geography in global
economic trends and trade patterns, the impacts of urbanization on spatial
inequality within countries, and alternative approaches to financing
the substantial infrastructure investments required in developing-country
cities.

Written by prominent academics in their fields, Urbanization and
Growth seeks to create a better understanding of the role of urbanization
in growth and to inform policy makers tackling the formidable challenges
it poses.