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On the Determinants of Slum Formation

Author

Listed:
  • Tiago Cavalcanti
  • Daniel Da Mata
  • Marcelo Santos

Abstract

We construct a simple model of a city with heterogeneous agents and housing choice to explain the determinants of slums, home to about one-third of the urban population in developing countries. The model supports the main empirical evidence regarding slum formation and is able quantitatively to assess the role of each determinant of slum growth. We show that urban poverty, inequality and rural–urban migration explain much of the variation in slum growth in Brazil from 1980 to 2000. Ex ante evaluation of the impacts of policy interventions shows that removing barriers to formalisation has a strong impact on slum reduction.

Suggested Citation

  • Tiago Cavalcanti & Daniel Da Mata & Marcelo Santos, 2019. "On the Determinants of Slum Formation," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(621), pages 1971-1991.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:econjl:v:129:y:2019:i:621:p:1971-1991.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/ecoj.12626
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    Cited by:

    1. Jedwab, Remi & Christiaensen, Luc & Gindelsky, Marina, 2017. "Demography, urbanization and development: Rural push, urban pull and…urban push?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 6-16.
    2. Guedes, Ricardo & Iachan, Felipe S. & Sant’Anna, Marcelo, 2023. "Housing supply in the presence of informality," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    3. Posada, Héctor M. & García-Suaza, Andres, 2022. "Transit infrastructure and informal housing: Assessing an expansion of Medellín's Metrocable system," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 209-228.
    4. Letrouit,Lucie Michele Maya & Selod,Harris, 2020. "Trust or Property Rights ? Can Trusted Relationships Substitute for Costly Land Registration in West African Cities ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9310, The World Bank.
    5. Lucie Letrouit & Harris Selod, 2024. "Informal land markets and ethnic kinship in West African cities [Marchés fonciers informels et cousinage ethnique dans les villes d'Afrique de l'Ouest]," Post-Print hal-04525074, HAL.
    6. Goytia, Cynthia & Heikkila, Eric J. & Pasquini, Ricardo A., 2023. "Do land use regulations help give rise to informal settlements? Evidence from Buenos Aires," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    7. Brueckner, Jan K. & Rabe, Claus & Selod, Harris, 2019. "Backyarding: Theory and evidence for South Africa," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    8. Brotherhood, Luiz & Cavalcanti, Tiago & Da Mata, Daniel & Santos, Cezar, 2022. "Slums and pandemics," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    9. Cai, Yongyang & Selod, Harris & Steinbuks, Jevgenijs, 2018. "Urbanization and land property rights," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 246-257.
    10. Garcia-López, Miquel-Àngel & Moreno-Monroy, Ana I., 2018. "Income segregation in monocentric and polycentric cities: Does urban form really matter?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 62-79.
    11. M. Picard,Pierre & Selod,Harris, 2020. "Customary Land Conversion and the Formation of the African City," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9192, The World Bank.
    12. Alves, Guillermo, 2021. "Slum growth in Brazilian cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    13. Letrouit, Lucie & Selod, Harris, 2024. "Informal land markets and ethnic kinship in West African cities," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    14. Pedro Cavalcanti Ferreira & Alexander Monge-Naranjo & Luciene Torres de Mello Pereira, 2016. "Of Cities and Slums," Working Papers 2016-22, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    15. Per G. Fredriksson & Satyendra Kumar Gupta & Weihua Zhao & Jim R. Wollscheid, 2023. "Legal heritage and urban slums," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(1), pages 236-252, January.
    16. Killemsetty, Namesh & Johnson, Michael & Patel, Amit, 2022. "Understanding housing preferences of slum dwellers in India: A community-based operations research approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 298(2), pages 699-713.
    17. Lima, Ricardo Carvalho de Andrade & Silveira Neto, Raul da Mota, 2019. "Zoning ordinances and the housing market in developing countries: Evidence from Brazilian municipalities," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    18. Brueckner, Jan K. & Mation, Lucas & Nadalin, Vanessa G., 2019. "Slums in Brazil: Where are they located, who lives in them, and do they ‘squeeze’ the formal housing market?," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 48-60.
    19. Busso, Matías & Chauvin, Juan Pablo, 2023. "Long-term Effects of Weather-induced Migration on Urban Labor and Housing Markets," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 12668, Inter-American Development Bank.

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