Publication: Is Living in African Cities Expensive?
Loading...
Date
2016-04
ISSN
Published
2016-04
Author(s)
Nakamura, Shohei
Harati, Rawaa
Dikhanov, Yuri M.
Hamadeh, Nada
Vigil Oliver, William
Rissanen, Marko Olavi
Yamanaka, Mizuki
Abstract
Although several studies have examined
why overall price levels are higher in richer countries,
little is known about whether there is a similar
relationship at the urban and city level across countries.
This paper compares the price levels of cities in
Sub-Saharan Africa with those of other regions by analyzing
price information collected for the 2011 round of the
International Comparison Program. Readjusting the calculated
price levels from national to urban levels, the analysis
indicates that African cities are relatively more expensive,
despite having lower income levels. The price levels of
goods and services consumed by households are up to
31percent higher in Sub-Saharan Africa than in other low-
and middle-income countries, relative to their income
levels. Food and non-alcoholic beverages are especially
expensive, with price levels around 35 percent higher than
in other countries. The paper also analyzes price
information collected by the Economist Intelligence
Unit's Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, and obtains a
similar result, indicating higher prices of goods and
services in African cities.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Nakamura, Shohei; Harati, Rawaa; Lall, Somik V.; Dikhanov, Yuri M.; Hamadeh, Nada; Vigil Oliver, William; Rissanen, Marko Olavi; Yamanaka, Mizuki. 2016. Is Living in African Cities Expensive?. Policy Research Working Paper;No. 7641. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24215 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Other publications in this report series
Publication Two Decades of Top Income Shares in Honduras(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-19)This paper presents distributional national accounts for Honduras over 2003–2019, using survey microdata, administrative tax records, and national account aggregates. It assembles comprehensive data on formal income for high-income individuals, including information on corporate shareholders, which allows corporate profits to be assigned to their owners. The estimates suggest a high and persistent inequality in the country: the top 1 percent highest earners received approximately 30 percent of the total income over the period, placing Honduras among the most unequal countries in the world. Undistributed corporate profits are the overwhelming income source at the very top of the distribution, highlighting its importance in the measurement of income inequality. Finally, using a panel of tax records, the paper also documents that not only is inequality persistent, but the same individuals are often observed at the top, suggesting that the observed inequality has deep roots.Publication Right to Education(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-12)About a third of the 7.7 million Venezuelans who have left their country due to political and economic turmoil have settled in neighboring Colombia. The extent to which the Colombian schooling system can absorb the massive demand for education of Venezuelan children is key for their future trajectory of human capital accumulation, as well as that of Colombian students in receiving communities. This paper estimates the effect of Venezuelan migration on educational outcomes of children living in settlement municipalities in Colombia, distinguish between the effect of the migration shock on native and migrant students. Specifically, it estimates the effect of the migration shock on school enrollment, dropout/promotion rates and standardized test scores. The identification relies on a plausibly exogenous measure of the predicted migration shock faced by each Colombian municipality every year. The findings show that the migration shock increased the enrollment of Venezuelan students in both public and private schools and in all school grades, but also generated negative spillovers related to failing promotion rates and increasing dropout. This paper documents that these negative effects are explained by the differential enrollment capacity of schools, as well as by the deterioration of key school inputs.Publication Environmental Policy under Weak Institutions(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-11)Developing countries are facing mounting pressures to incorporate environmental concerns into their policy reform agendas. This paper finds that common environmental policies, such as levying taxes to reduce the excessive exploitation of natural assets, can be self-defeating when (i) institutions are weak and (ii) the general equilibrium effects of such policy actions are overlooked. This seemingly paradoxical result is driven by fundamental mechanisms in structural transformation frameworks, without the need for strong assumptions. It also carries a clear policy implication: environmental policies should be considered within a country’s broader development context, rather than in isolation.Publication The Quality and Price of Africa’s Imports of Digital Goods(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-08)Imported digital goods are critical for productivity growth in low-income countries. Using detailed data on international trade flows and tariffs, this paper finds that African nations tend to import relatively low quality, low price digital goods. It also finds that digital goods in Africa are subject to relatively higher tariffs, along with other factors that contribute to their higher cost in the domestic market compared to other regions, especially in some low-income countries. The findings show that the African Continental Free Trade Area will do little to reduce this tariff burden, as most digital goods are sourced from higher income nonmembers. In contrast, unilateral tariff liberalization toward all countries would significantly increase the imports of digital goods in Africa.Publication Reviewing Assessment Tools for Measuring Country Statistical Capacity(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-06)Country statistical capacity is increasingly recognized as crucial for development, but no academic study exists that reviews the available assessment tools. This paper offers the first review study that fills this gap, paying particular attention to data and practical measurement challenges. It compares the World Bank’s recently developed Statistical Performance Indicators and Index with other widely used indexes, such as the Open Data Inventory index, the Global Data Barometer index, and other regional and self-assessment tools. The findings show that each index brings advantages in data sources, number of indicators, measurement focus, coverage of countries and time periods, and correlation with common development indexes. The Open Data Inventory index covers the most countries, the Global Data Barometer index collects data through its surveys, and the Statistical Performance Indicators and Index offer a broader framework for assessing statistical systems. The paper offers further thoughts on the potential mechanisms through which these tools can bring positive impacts on economic activities and some political economy concerns, as well as future directions for development.