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The Development of the African System of Cities

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  • J. Vernon Henderson

    (Department of Geography and Environment, London School of Economics, London WC2A 2AE, United Kingdom)

  • Sebastian Kriticos

    (Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics, London WC2A 2AE, United Kingdom)

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced high urban population growth over the past half century, dramatically reshaping the economic and spatial profile of the region. Simultaneously, this process has challenged the conventional view that countries urbanize alongside structural transformation, as urbanization in Africa has occurred despite low productivity gains in agriculture and very limited industrialization. While there are large household income gaps between urban and rural areas that induce migration, most cities have very high agricultural employment, blurring the connection between structural transformation and urbanization. Urban income premiums apply equally to farm and nonfarm families. Looking across the urban hierarchy, we discuss how high urban primacy presents problems for economic growth in Africa, how secondary cities are faltering with a lack of industrialization, and how growth of employment in tradable services may signal a different path to structural transformation.

Suggested Citation

  • J. Vernon Henderson & Sebastian Kriticos, 2018. "The Development of the African System of Cities," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 10(1), pages 287-314, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:anr:reveco:v:10:y:2018:p:287-314
    DOI: 10.1146/annurev-economics-080217-053207
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    Cited by:

    1. World Bank, 2020. "Ethiopia Poverty Assessment," World Bank Publications - Reports 33544, The World Bank Group.
    2. J. Vernon Henderson & Matthew A. Turner, 2020. "Urbanization in the Developing World: Too Early or Too Slow?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(3), pages 150-173, Summer.
    3. Animashaun, Jubril O. & Emediegwu, Lotanna E., 2023. "Rural-to-Urban Migration (RUM) and Women’s Work in Nigerian Households," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335503, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Fenske, James & Kala, Namrata & Wei, Jinlin, 2023. "Railways and cities in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    5. Henderson, J. Vernon & Nigmatulina, Dzhamilya & Kriticos, Sebastian, 2021. "Measuring urban economic density," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    6. Ezra Berkhout & Lucie Sovová & Anne Sonneveld, 2023. "The Role of Urban–Rural Connections in Building Food System Resilience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-22, January.
    7. Daniel D. Bonneau & Joshua C. Hall, 2020. "Economic Activity, International Intervention, and Transitional Governance: A Comparative Case Study of Somalia," Working Papers 20-01, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    8. Daniel D. Bonneau & Joshua C. Hall & Yang Zhou, 2022. "Institutional implant and economic stagnation: a counterfactual study of Somalia," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 190(3), pages 483-503, March.
    9. Kamei,Akito & Nakamura,Shohei, 2020. "Urban Agglomerations and Employment Transitions in Ethiopia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9184, The World Bank.
    10. Deborah Fahy Bryceson & Katherine V. Gough & Jesper Bosse Jønsson & Crispin Kinabo & Michael Clarke Shand & Cristina Udelsmann Rodrigues & Paul W.K. Yankson, 2022. "MINERALIZED URBANIZATION IN AFRICA IN THE TWENTY‐FIRST CENTURY: Becoming Urban through Mining Extraction," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 342-369, May.
    11. Barzin,Samira & Avner,Paolo & Maruyama Rentschler,Jun Erik & O’Clery,Neave, 2022. "Where Are All the Jobs ? A Machine Learning Approach for High Resolution Urban Employment Prediction inDeveloping Countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9979, The World Bank.
    12. Fenske, James & Kala, Namrata & Wei, Jinlin, 2021. "Railways and cities in India," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1349, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    13. Fenske, James & Kala, Namrata & Wei, Jinlin, 2021. "Railways and cities in India," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 559, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Africa; industrialization; primacy; structural transformation; urbanization; wage premium;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J00 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - General
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa
    • R00 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General - - - General
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

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