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Urban Productivity in the Developing World

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  • Edward L. Glaeser
  • Wentao Xiong

Abstract

Africa is urbanizing rapidly, and this creates both opportunities and challenges. Labor productivity appears to be much higher in developing-world cities than in rural areas, and historically urbanization is strongly correlated with economic growth. Education seems to be a strong complement to urbanization, and entrepreneurial human capital correlates strongly with urban success. Immigrants provide a natural source of entrepreneurship, both in the U.S. and in Africa, which suggests that making African cities more livable can generate economic benefits by attracting talent. Reducing the negative externalities of urban life requires a combination of infrastructure, incentives, and institutions. Appropriate institutions can mean independent public authorities, public-private partnerships, and non-profit entities depending on the setting.

Suggested Citation

  • Edward L. Glaeser & Wentao Xiong, 2017. "Urban Productivity in the Developing World," NBER Working Papers 23279, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23279
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    2. -, 2023. "Halfway to 2030 in Latin America and the Caribbean: progress and recommendations for acceleration," Libros y Documentos Institucionales, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 48824 edited by Eclac, May.
    3. Venables, Anthony & Duranton, Gilles, 2018. "Place-Based Policies for Development," CEPR Discussion Papers 12889, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Brad R. Humphreys & Amir B. Ferreira Neto, 2020. "Localization Economies and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Football Teams in Sao Paulo, Brazil," Working Papers 20-09, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    5. Barzin,Samira & Avner,Paolo & Maruyama Rentschler,Jun Erik & O’Clery,Neave, 2022. "Where Are All the Jobs ? A Machine Learning Approach for High Resolution Urban Employment Prediction inDeveloping Countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9979, The World Bank.
    6. Muhammad Naveed Iftikhar & Maha Ahmad & David B. Audretsch, 0. "The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship: the developing country context," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-20.
    7. Rohit Sharma, 2018. "Financing Indian Urban Rail through Land Development: Case Studies and Implications for the Accelerated Reduction in Oil Associated with 1.5 °C," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 3(2), pages 21-34.
    8. Muhammad Naveed Iftikhar & Maha Ahmad & David B. Audretsch, 2020. "The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship: the developing country context," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 1327-1346, December.
    9. Anthony J Venables, 2018. "Urbanisation in Developing Economies: building cities that work," REGION, European Regional Science Association, vol. 5, pages 91-100.
    10. L Carlos Freire-Gibb & Luis Tapia Carrillo, 2019. "Inclusive institutions and local economic evolution: Perspectives from Guayaquil and Quito," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 34(5), pages 471-488, August.
    11. Crescenzi, Riccardo & Limodio, Nicola, 2021. "The impact of Chinese FDI in Africa: evidence from Ethiopia," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 108455, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. Paul Collier & Anthony J. Venables, 2017. "Urbanization in developing economies: the assessment," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 33(3), pages 355-372.
    13. Yating Ru & Beliyou Haile & John I. Carruthers, 2022. "Urbanization and child growth failure in Sub-Saharan Africa: a geographical analysis," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 441-473, July.
    14. Dongchao Zhang & Fangyi Jiao & Xiyue Zheng & Jianing Pang, 2023. "Analysis of the Influence Mechanism of New Urbanization on High-Quality Economic Development in Northeast China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-22, May.
    15. Siqueira, Erica H.S. & Fischer, Bruno Brandão & Bin, Adriana & Kickul, Jill, 2023. "Entrepreneurial ecosystems’ readiness towards knowledge-intensive sustainable entrepreneurship: Evidence from Brazil," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • R00 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General - - - General

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