![]() ![]() Davis and Weinstein (2002) attributed this to the effect of their geography (which was not altered). ![]() (2007) and Miguel and Roland (2011) studied the bombing of Japan, Germany, and Vietnam, respectively, and showed that many of the destroyed cities subsequently recovered their population and their importance within the national economy. cities).ĭavis and Weinstein (2002), Bosker et al. man-made advantages) to determine the spatial distribution of economic activity (i.e. If geography is the main driver, then there is little scope for history (i.e. Thus, geography could give locations a natural advantage and railroads and roads would therefore be built as a response to this. At the root of city development could be physical geography: the fact that there is a river, a fertile plain, a natural harbour, and so on, nearby. This comes down to a ‘the chicken or the egg’ problem. However, it is less clear whether transportation infrastructure has the influence to determine where and what cities develop, and whether they permanently change the economic landscape of a country. It is commonly acknowledged that transportation infrastructure is needed in order for countries to develop. Were railroads so instrumental that without them economic outcomes would have been different and development delayed? This column explores whether colonial railroad investments transformed Africa’s economic geography. By 2010, the number of cities had increased to almost 3,000. The study of why cities emerge, and persist, has become crucial to our understanding of the growth process, and of the evolution of spatial inequality both across and within countries.Īt the turn of the 19th century, sub-Saharan Africa was the least urbanised region in the world, with only about 50 cities of more than 10,000 inhabitants. By agglomerating people, cities facilitate the exchange of goods and ideas, increasing aggregate productivity (Glaeser and Gottlieb 2009), and potentially promoting growth in developing countries (Duranton 2015). Cities are the main engines of growth (Lucas 1988).
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