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Why Secondary Towns Can Be Important for Poverty Reduction

Author

Listed:
  • Bert Ingelaere
  • Luc Christiaensen
  • Joachim De Weerdt
  • Ravi Kanbur

Abstract

This paper develops the concept of ‘action space’ as the range of possible destinations to which a migrant can realistically move at a given point in time and, intimately linked to this, the set of possible livelihoods at destination. It shows how this space expands and contracts over time through ‘cumulative causation.’ Such a dynamic framework allows for appreciating the role of secondary towns in rural-urban migration and poverty reduction. Secondary towns occupy a unique middle ground between semi-subsistence agriculture and the capitalistic city, between what is close by and familiar and what is much further away and unknown. By opening the horizons of the (poorer) rural population and facilitating navigation of the nonfarm economy, secondary towns allow a broader base of the poor population to become physically, economically, and socially mobile. Secondary towns therefore have great potential as vehicles for inclusive growth and poverty reduction in urbanizing developing countries. These are the insights emerging from the in-depth life history accounts of 75 purposively selected rural-urban migrants from rural Kagera, in Tanzania.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Bert Ingelaere & Luc Christiaensen & Joachim De Weerdt & Ravi Kanbur, 2018. "Why Secondary Towns Can Be Important for Poverty Reduction," World Bank Publications - Reports 29391, The World Bank Group.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wboper:29391
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    File URL: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/29391/123464-WP-13-2-2018-17-10-31-SecondarytownsandpovertyreductionAmigrantperspectivev-PUBLIC.pdf?sequence=1
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    Cited by:

    1. Leighton, Margaret & Martine, Anitha & Massaga, Julius, 2023. "Fostering early childhood development in low-resource communities: Evidence from a group-based parenting intervention in Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    2. Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose & Jamie Griffiths, 2021. "Developing intermediate cities," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(3), pages 441-456, June.
    3. Ian Scoones & Felix Murimbarimba, 2021. "Small Towns and Land Reform in Zimbabwe," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 33(6), pages 2040-2062, December.
    4. Gibson, John & Jiang, Yi & Susantono, Bambang, 2023. "Revisiting the role of secondary towns: How different types of urban growth relate to poverty in Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    5. Jordan Chamberlin & T. S. Jayne & Nicholas J. Sitko, 2020. "Rural in‐migration and agricultural development: Evidence from Zambia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(4), pages 491-504, July.
    6. Yin Wang & Dian Min & Wenli Ye & Kongsen Wu & Xinjun Yang, 2023. "The Impact of Rural Location on Farmers’ Livelihood in the Loess Plateau: Local, Urban–Rural, and Interconnected Multi-Spatial Perspective Research," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-18, August.
    7. Valerie Mueller & Emily Schmidt & Nancy Lozano & Siobhan Murray, 2019. "Implications of Migration on Employment and Occupational Transitions in Tanzania," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 42(2), pages 181-206, March.
    8. 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.

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