Deck 7: Urbanization and Rural-Urban Migration: Theory and Policy

Question 1

What are the characteristics of those who migrate to urban areas? What positive and negative effects does their leaving have on those who remain?

Answer 1

Younger,better educated,and probably less risk averse,given their willingness to migrate.These factors suggest they could be more entrepreneurial than average had they not migrated,which would benefit the rural area and help alleviate the urbanization problem.

Question 2

Explain what is meant by urban bias.What are the major effects of urban bias?

Answer 2

Developing country policies that favor the urban sector with a disproportionate share of investments in infrastructure,factories,buildings,and education.This creates a widening gap in incomes and amenities between urban and rural economies and induces rural-urban migration.

Question 3

Other things constant,the elimination of factor price distortions in developing countries wouldmost likely
(a)decrease rural-urban migration.
(b)have little effect on rural-urban migration.
(c)increase rural-urban migration.
(d)increase urbanization.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

If the rural wage is 4 and the formal urban wage rate is 10,there will be rural to urban migration if the formal urban unemployment rate is
(a)50%
(b)60%
(c)70%
(d)all of the above

Question 5

Are developing country cities too large,too small,or about right in size? Justify your answer with evidence from developing economies.

Question 6

Explain some important policy measures that you would expect to reduce excessive rural-urban migration.Explain.

Question 7

Why is urban giantism less prevalent in mature democracies?

Question 8

An argument supporting promotion of the urban informal sector is
(a)the formal sector is incapable of providing enough employment.
(b)informal sector workers are poorly educated.
(c)it uses a relatively high capital intensity.
(d)it would reduce urban bias.

Question 9

The informal sector exhibits
(a)free entry
(b)labor intensive methods
(c)small,competitive firms
(d)all of the above

Question 10

How could the removal of labor market distortions increase employment even if the elasticity of factor substitution is very low?

Question 11

According to the United Nations,Millennium Development Goals Report,the annual growth in % of slum population from 1990-2001 has been the largest in:
(a)Latin America and the Caribbean
(b)South-East Asia
(c)Sub-Saharan Africa
(d)Southern Asia

Question 12

Describe some of the causes of urban giantism in developing countries.

Question 13

Describe some of the benefits and costs associated with the emergence of large cities in developing countries.

Question 14

Discuss the importance of rural-urban migration as a source of urban population growth in various parts of the developing world,being as specific as you can.

Question 15

Explain why policies designed to reduce urban unemployment may not greatly reduce poverty in developing countries.

Question 16

What are the main features of the Harris-Todaro model of rural-urban migration?

Question 17

Suppose the rural wage is $1 per day.Urban modern sector employment can be obtained with5 probability and pays $2 per day.Will there be any rural-urban migration? Explain yourreasoning,stating explicitly any simplifying assumptions,and show all work.

Question 18

Point out the main differences in job conditions and worker characteristics between the urban formal and informal sectors.

Question 19

Rural-urban migrants differ from the rest of the rural population in that they are more likely to be
(a)well educated
(b)poor
(c)female
(d)all of the above

Question 20

Even though women may often constitute the majority of the rural-urban migrants in a country,they usually still remain employed in the informal sector.Why? What are the consequences of this?

Question 21

For what percentage of urban population growth is rural-urban migration responsible?
(a)between 35% and 60%.
(b)between 40% and 80%.
(c)between 50% and 70%
(d)between 50% and 90%.

Question 22

According to UN projections,what proportion of the world's urban population will reside in the urban areas of developing countries by 2025?
(a)two fifths.
(b)one half.
(c)two thirds.
(d)four fifths.