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Where to create jobs to reduce poverty : cities or towns ?

Author

Listed:
  • Christiaensen,Luc
  • De Weerdt,Joachim
  • Kanbur,Ravi
  • Christiaensen,Luc
  • De Weerdt,Joachim
  • Kanbur,Ravi

Abstract

Should public investment be targeted to big cities or to small towns, if the objective is to minimize national poverty? To answer this policy question, this paper extends the basic Todaro-type model of rural-urban migration to the case of migration from rural areas to two potential destinations, secondary town and big city. The analysis first derives the labor income, migration cost and poverty line conditions under which a poverty gradient from rural to town to city will exist as an equilibrium phenomenon. Then sufficient statistics are developed for the policy decisions based on these parameters. The empirical remit of the model is illustrated with long-running panel data from Kagera, Tanzania. Further, the paper shows that the structure of the sufficient statistics is maintained in the case where the model is generalized to introduce heterogeneous workers and jobs.

Suggested Citation

  • Christiaensen,Luc & De Weerdt,Joachim & Kanbur,Ravi & Christiaensen,Luc & De Weerdt,Joachim & Kanbur,Ravi, 2017. "Where to create jobs to reduce poverty : cities or towns ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8069, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8069
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    Cited by:

    1. De Weerdt, Joachim & Christiansen, Lue & Kanbur, Ravi, "undated". "When Distance Drives Destination, Towns can Stimulate Development," Applied Economics and Policy Working Paper Series 310517, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    2. Min Wang & Shuqi Yang & Huajie Gao & Kahaer Abudu, 2021. "The Characteristics, Influencing Factors, and Push-Pull Mechanism of Shrinking Counties: A Case Study of Shandong Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-22, February.
    3. Ameye, Hannah & De Weerdt, Joachim, 2020. "Child health across the rural–urban spectrum," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    4. Fabry, Anna & Maertens, Miet, 2025. "Temporary labor mobility to various geographical and sectoral destinations improves rural incomes − Insights from Peru," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    5. Luc Christiaensen & Joachim De Weerdt & Ravi Kanbur, 2019. "Decomposing the contribution of migration to poverty reduction: methodology and application to Tanzania," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(12), pages 978-982, July.
    6. Ben Belton & Peixun Fang & Thomas Reardon, 2025. "Combine harvester outsourcing services and seasonal rural non‐farm employment in Myanmar," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 47(1), pages 97-124, March.
    7. 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).
    8. John Gibson & Yi Jiang & Bambang Susantono, 2022. "Revisiting the role of secondary towns: Effects of different types of urban growth on poverty in Indonesia," Working Papers in Economics 22/05, University of Waikato.
    9. Mulubrhan Amare & Kibrom A. Abay & Channing Arndt & Bekele Shiferaw, 2021. "Youth Migration Decisions in Sub‐Saharan Africa: Satellite‐Based Empirical Evidence from Nigeria," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 47(1), pages 151-179, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • O41 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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