Geography and Development

Henderson, J. Vernon ; Shalizi, Zmarak ; Venables, Anthony J.

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: AFFILIATE;    AFFILIATES;    AGGREGATE DEMAND;    BILATERAL TRADE;    CAPITAL GOODS;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-2456
RP-ID  :  WPS2456

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The most striking fact about theeconomic geography of the world is the uneven spatialdistribution of economic activity, including the coexistenceof economic development and underdevelopment. High-incomeregions are almost entirely concentrated in a few temperatezones, half of the world's GDP is produced by 15percent of the world's population, and 54 percent ofthe world's GDP is produced by countries occupying just10 percent of the world's land area. The poorest halfof the world's population produces only 14 percent ofthe world's GDP, and 17 of the poorest 20 nations arein tropical Africa. The unevenness is also manifest withincountries and within metropolitan concentrations ofactivity. Why are these spatial differences in land rentsand wages not bid away by firms and individuals in search oflow-cost or high-income locations? Why does economicactivity cluster in centers of activity? And what are theconsequences of remoteness from existing centers? Theauthors argue that understanding these issues is central forunderstanding many aspects of economic development andunderdevelopment at the international, national, andsubcontinental levels. They review the theoretical andempirical work that illuminates how the spatial relationshipbetween economic units changes and conclude that geographymatters for development, but that economic growth is notgoverned by a geographic determinism. New economic centerscan develop, and the costs of remoteness can be reduced.Many explicit policy instruments have been used to influencelocation decisions. But none has been systematicallysuccessful, and many have been very costly-in part becausethey were based on inappropriate expectations. Moreover,many ostensibly nonspatial policies that benefit specificsectors and households have spatial consequences since thetargeted sectors and households are not distributeduniformly across space. These nonspatial policies cansometimes dominate explicitly spatial policies. Further workis needed to better understand these dynamics in developing countries.