Geography of Growth : Spatial Economics and Competitiveness

This volume is organized as follows. Chapter one address two questions: how has spatial concentration evolved with growth and development, and what are the efficiency implications of too much or too little spatial concentration? This chapter summarizes the various models that analyze growth by geographic concentration and sets the foundation for concepts discussed in later chapters. Chapter two focuses on urbanization in geographies. Chapter three correlates urban presence with economic density in developed and developing countries. It initially focuses on how urban transition and growth are blurring the rural-urban divide and the unprecedented volume of people who are moving to urban areas. Chapter four discusses how different industries inhabit and impact various urban sectors. Chapter five contextualizes urban growth in the current technological landscape as innovation, particularly in information technology, has become critical to increasing productivity and consequently growth. Chapter six further analyzes urbanization in the current global context, specifically, the impact of globalization and industry clusters on urbanization. Chapter seven addresses a current fundamental global trend: why has urbanization been growing rapidly since the 1950s? Some theories suggest that it is industry that spurs urbanization and consequently growth in infrastructure; however this is not the case. Instead, the chapter concludes by looking at data across regions and cities, the municipalities are pivotal in influencing infrastructure development and growth in urban centers. Finally, chapter eight deciphers why some cities are more successful than others. Why do Karachi and Sao Paulo have the human capital that qualifies them as urban centers but not as thriving cities? By citing examples of successful cities, this chapter provides policy recommendations on how to make a city competitive in today's economy.