Publication: Urbanization, Agglomeration, and Economic Development
Date
2008
ISSN
Published
2008
Author(s)
Quigley, John M.
Abstract
This paper reviews the linkages between
urbanization and economic development. It articulates the
relationship between urban density and potential increases
in productivity, through specialization, complementarities
in production, through the diffusion of knowledge and
mimicry, and simply through size and scale. The factors
limiting the efficient sizes of cities are analyzed. The
paper reviews empirical knowledge, from underdeveloped
countries as well as high-income industrial societies, about
the importance and magnitudes of these productivity gains.
The analysis documents the close link between gains in
economic efficiency and the urbanization of populations in
most parts of the world.
Citation
“Quigley, John M.. 2008. Urbanization, Agglomeration, and Economic Development. Commission on Growth and Development Working Paper;No. 19. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28042?show=full License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”