Publication:
Scale Economies and Cities

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dc.contributor.authorGoh, Chor-Ching
dc.contributor.authorGill, Indermit S.
dc.date.accessioned2012-03-30T07:12:35Z
dc.date.available2012-03-30T07:12:35Z
dc.date.issued2010-08-02
dc.description.abstractThis paper summarizes the policy-relevant insights of a generation of research on scale economies. Scale economies in production are of three types: internal economies associated with large plants, localization economies that come from sharing of inputs and infrastructure and from greater competition among firms, and urbanization economies that are generated through diversity and knowledge spillovers. The benefits (and costs) of localization and urbanization are together called “external (dis) economies” because they arise due to factors outside any single household, farm or firm. The empirical literature yields some stylized facts. Internal scale economies are low in light industries and high in heavy industries. External scale economies are amplified by economic density and dissipate with distance from places where economic activity is concentrated. Scale economies are most visibly manifest in towns and cities. To simplify somewhat, towns allow firms and farms to exploit internal scale economies, medium-sized cities help firms in an industry exploit localization economies, and large cities and metropolises provide urbanization economies to those who locate within or nearby. Scale economies have implications for policy makers. The first is that because urban settlements rise and thrive because market agents demand their services, they should be seen as creatures of the market, not creations of the state. The second is that because settlements of different sizes provide differing services, towns, cities, and metropolises are more often complements for one another, not substitutes. Third, as a corollary, policymakers should aim to improve the functioning of urban settlements, and not become preoccupied with their size.en
dc.identifier.citationWorld Bank Research Observer
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/4440
dc.identifier.issn1564-6971
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/4440
dc.publisherWorld Bank
dc.relation.ispartofseriesWorld Bank Research Observer
dc.rightsCC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectaccounting
dc.subjectbanks
dc.subjectcity size
dc.subjecteconomics
dc.subjectemployment
dc.subjectexternalities
dc.subjectfixed costs
dc.subjecthousing
dc.subjectinsurance
dc.subjectland use
dc.subjectlarge cities
dc.subjectmass transit
dc.subjectmetropolitan areas
dc.subjectnatural resources
dc.subjectproductivity
dc.subjectsavings
dc.subjecttransport
dc.subjecturban growth
dc.subjecturbanization
dc.subjectwages
dc.titleScale Economies and Citiesen
dc.typeJournal Articleen
dc.typeArticle de journalfr
dc.typeArtículo de revistaes
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.date.doiregistration2025-05-06T11:00:55.514036Z
okr.doctypeJournal Article
okr.globalpracticeMacroeconomics and Fiscal Management
okr.globalpracticeSocial, Urban, Rural and Resilience
okr.globalpracticeTransport and ICT
okr.globalpracticeGovernance
okr.identifier.report2
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pagenumber235
okr.pagenumber262
okr.pdfurlwbro_25_2_235.pdfen
okr.peerreviewAcademic Peer Review
okr.region.administrativeLatin America & Caribbean
okr.region.administrativeEast Asia and Pacific
okr.region.countryUnited States
okr.region.countryFrance
okr.topicUrban Development::City Development Strategies
okr.topicCulture and Development::Cultural Policy
okr.topicMacroeconomics and Economic Growth::Knowledge Economy
okr.topicMacroeconomics and Economic Growth::Political Economy
okr.volume25
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relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery211cec36-3fba-5b57-91c5-72448bf62eb6
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relation.isJournalVolumeOfPublication4e26c634-5b05-4bd1-b6da-8b2e9c1d7a5e
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