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Geography and development

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Author Info
Henderson, J. Vernon
Shalizi, Zmarak
Venables, Anthony J.

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Abstract

The most striking fact about the economic geography of the world is the uneven spatial distribution of economic activity, including the coexistence of economic development and underdevelopment. High-income regions are almost entirely concentrated in a few temperate zones, half of the world's GDP is produced by 15 percent of the world's population, and 54 percent of the world's GDP is produced by countries occupying just 10 percent of the world's land area. The poorest half of the world's population produces only 14 percent of the world's GDP, and 17 of the poorest 20 nations are in tropical Africa. The unevenness is also manifest within countries and within metropolitan concentrations of activity. Why are these spatial differences in land rents and wages not bid away by firms and individuals in search of low-cost or high-income locations? Why does economic activity cluster in centers of activity? And what are the consequences of remoteness from existing centers? The authors argue that understanding these issues is central for understanding many aspects of economic development and underdevelopment at the international, national, and subcontinental levels. They review the theoretical and empirical work that illuminates how the spatial relationship between economic units changes and conclude that geography matters for development, but that economic growth is not governed by a geographic determinism. New economic centers can develop, and the costs of remoteness can be reduced. Many explicit policy instruments have been used to influence location decisions. But none has been systematically successful, and many have been very costly-in part because they were based on inappropriate expectations. Moreover, many ostensibly nonspatial policies that benefit specific sectors and households have spatial consequences since the targeted sectors and households are not distributed uniformly across space. These nonspatial policies can sometimes dominate explicitly spatial policies. Further work is needed to better understand these dynamics in developing countries.

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Paper provided by The World Bank in its series Policy Research Working Paper Series with number 2456.

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Date of creation: 30 Sep 2000
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Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:2456

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Keywords: Economic Theory&Research Decentralization Labor Policies Environmental Economics&Policies Banks&Banking Reform Banks&Banking Reform Municipal Financial Management Health Economics&Finance Economic Theory&Research Environmental Economics&Policies

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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  9. Murphy, Kevin M & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1989. "Industrialization and the Big Push," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(5), pages 1003-26, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  12. Duncan Black & Vernon Henderson, 1999. "A Theory of Urban Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(2), pages 252-284, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    Other versions:
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  15. Glaeser, Edward L & Hedi D. Kallal & Jose A. Scheinkman & Andrei Shleifer, 1992. "Growth in Cities," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(6), pages 1126-52, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    • Edward L. Glaeser & Hedi D. Kallal & Jose A. Scheinkman & Andrei Shleifer, 1991. "Growth in Cities," NBER Working Papers 3787, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  19. Venables, Anthony J., 1996. "Trade policy, cumulative causation, and industrial development," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 179-197, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Fujita, Masahisa & Tabuchi, Takatoshi, 1997. "Regional growth in postwar Japan," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 643-670, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  22. Nakamura, Ryohei, 1985. "Agglomeration economies in urban manufacturing industries: A case of Japanese cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 108-124, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  24. Thomas, Vinod, 1980. "Spatial differences in the cost of living," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 108-122, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Beugelsdijk, S. & Cornet, M., 2001. "How far do they reach? : the localization of industrial and academic knowledge spillovers in the Netherlands," Discussion Paper 47, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  2. Anthony J. Venables, 2003. "Spatial Disparities in Developing Countries: Cities, Regions and International Trade," CEP Discussion Papers dp0593, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Stephane Straub, 2008. "Infrastructure and Growth in Developing Countries: Recent Advances and Research Challenges," ESE Discussion Papers 179, Edinburgh School of Economics, University of Edinburgh. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. BEHRENS, Kristian, 2003. "International trade and internal geography revisited," LEG - Document de travail - Economie 2003-09, LEG, Laboratoire d'Economie et de Gestion, CNRS UMR 5118, Université de Bourgogne. [Downloadable!]
  5. Xubei Luo, 2004. "The role of infrastructure investment location in China's western development," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3345, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  6. Souleymane COULIBALY, 2006. "Persistent Uneven Spread of Economic Activities within Developing RIAs," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'Econométrie et d'Economie politique (DEEP) 06.01, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, DEEP. [Downloadable!]
  7. Temple, Jonathan, 2001. "Growing into Trouble: Indonesia After 1966," CEPR Discussion Papers 2932, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Buys, Piet & Deichmann, Uwe & Wheeler, David, 2006. "Road network upgrading and overland trade expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4097, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  9. Zeljko Bogetic & Issa Sanogo, 2005. "Infrastructure, Productivity and Urban Dynamics in Cote d'Ivoire, Africa Region Working Paper Series No. 86 (July 2005), The World Bank, Washington D.C," Urban/Regional 0510001, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  10. Catin, Maurice & Luo, Xubei & Van Huffel, Christophe, 2005. "Openness, industrialization, and geographic concentration of activities in China," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3706, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  11. Michel Mignolet, 2003. "What Regional Policy to Make up for Regional Productivity Handicap?," ERSA conference papers ersa03p298, European Regional Science Association. [Downloadable!]
  12. Deichmann, Uwe & Fay, Marianne & Jun Koo & Lall, Somik V., 2002. "Economic structure, productivity, and infrastructure quality in southern Mexico," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2900, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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  13. Lall, Somik V. & Funderburg, Richard & Yepes, Tito, 2003. "Location, concentration, and performance of economic activity in Brazil," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3268, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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    Other versions:
  15. Édgard Moncayo Jiménez, 2003. "Nuevas teorías y enfoques conceptuales sobre el desarrollo regional: ¿hacia un nuevo paradigma?," Revista de Economía Institucional, Universidad Externado de Colombia - Facultad de Economía, vol. 5(8), pages 32-65, January-J. [Downloadable!]
  16. Ryohei Nakamura, 2005. "Agglomeration Economies and Linkage Externalities in Urban Manufacturing Industries - A Case of Japanese Cities," ERSA conference papers ersa05p768, European Regional Science Association. [Downloadable!]
  17. Lall, Somik & Shalizi, Zmarak & Deichmann, Uwe, 2001. "Agglomeration economies and productivity in Indian industry," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2663, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  18. Jacinto Brito González, 2004. "Conocimiento, geografía e instituciones: Una aproximación a la problemática del crecimiento en el archipiélago canario," Documentos de trabajo conjunto ULL-ULPGC 2004-03, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas de la ULPGC. [Downloadable!]
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