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In Search of a Spatial Equilibrium in the Developing World
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In Search of a Spatial Equilibrium in the Developing World

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  • Gollin, Douglas
  • Lagakos, David
  • Kirchberger, Martina

Abstract

In most developing countries, there is a large gap in income per head between urban and rural areas. One appealing interpretation of this gap is that it reflects a spatial equilibrium, in which the higher incomes of urban areas are offset by lower non-monetary amenities. In this paper, we draw on new high-resolution evidence to document how amenities vary across space within twenty developing countries. We focus on measures of health, housing quality, crime and pollution. These vary substantially across space, and they can be carefully measured with highly comparable data. We find that in almost all countries, and for almost all measures, amenities are constant or increasing in population density. In addition, net internal migration flows are directed toward denser areas in every country. These findings are hard to reconcile with a spatial equilibrium. Instead, they suggest that developing countries are undergoing a reallocation of workers to densely populated areas, which offer higher living standards on average.

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  • Gollin, Douglas & Lagakos, David & Kirchberger, Martina, 2017. "In Search of a Spatial Equilibrium in the Developing World," CEPR Discussion Papers 12114, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12114
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    Cited by:

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    5. Frederik Wild & David Stadelmann, 2021. "Coastal Proximity and Individual Living Standards: Econometric Evidence from Geo-Referenced Household Surveys," CREMA Working Paper Series 2021-22, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA).
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    7. Bluhm, Richard & Krause, Melanie, 2022. "Top lights: Bright cities and their contribution to economic development," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    8. Md Mahbubur Rahman & Oksana Leukhina & Raghav Paul, 2018. "Why is Agricultural Productivity So Low in Poor Countries? The Case of India," 2018 Meeting Papers 1305, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    9. Christian Düben & Melanie Krause, 2021. "Population, light, and the size distribution of cities," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(1), pages 189-211, January.
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    14. Mayneris, Florian & Martin, Julien & Theophile, Ewane, 2020. "The price of remoteness: Product availability and local cost of living in Ethiopia," CEPR Discussion Papers 14515, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
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    16. Jan Willem Gunning & Pramila Krishnan & Andualem T Mengistu, 2018. "Fading Choice: Transport Costs and Variety in Consumer Goods," CSAE Working Paper Series 2018-05, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
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    22. Kriticos, Sebastian & Henderson, J. Vernon, 2019. "The prospects for manufacturing-led growth in Africa’s cities," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103073, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    23. Jedwab, Remi & Loungani, Prakash & Yezer, Anthony, 2021. "Comparing cities in developed and developing countries: Population, land area, building height and crowding," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Spatial equilibrium; Living standards; Amenities; Disamenities; Development; Migration;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)

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