Urbanization in developing economies: the assessment

Urbanization is an inherent part of economic development, yet its success in delivering jobs, productivity, and liveability varies widely. This issue of the Oxford Review of Economic Policy compares the experience of different countries and analyses the causes of their different performance. Cities are policy intensive, requiring public provision of infrastructure, regulation, and coordination. This in turn requires authorizing environments with a sufficiently broad span of control, and correspondingly powerful checks and balances to prevent abuse.