Demography, Urbanization and Development : Rural Push, Urban Pull and ... Urban Push?
Developing countries have urbanized rapidly since 1950. To explain urbanization, standard models emphasize rural-urban migration, focusing on rural push factors (agricultural modernization and rural poverty) and urban pull factors (industrializatio...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2015
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/06/24689971/demography-urbanization-development-rural-push-urban-pull-urban-push http://hdl.handle.net/10986/22214 |
| Summary: | Developing countries have urbanized
rapidly since 1950. To explain urbanization, standard models
emphasize rural-urban migration, focusing on rural push
factors (agricultural modernization and rural poverty) and
urban pull factors (industrialization and urban-biased
policies). Using new historical data on urban birth and
death rates for seven countries from Industrial Europe
(1800–1910) and thirty-five developing countries
(1960–2010), this paper argues that a non-negligible part of
developing countries’ rapid urban growth and urbanization
may also be linked to demographic factors, such as rapid
internal urban population growth, or an urban push. High
urban natural increase in today’s developing countries
follows from lower urban mortality, relative to Industrial
Europe, where higher urban deaths offset urban births. This
compounds the effects of migration and displays strong
associations with urban congestion, providing additional
insight into the phenomenon of urbanization without growth. |
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