[Economic development, urbanization, and urban concentration: an attempt at a synthesis]

The relationship between economic development and urbanization in developing countries is reviewed. The authors conclude that urbanization is a necessary but not in itself a sufficient condition of development. They note that policies designed to either encourage or discourage urbanization have proved ineffective. Problems encountered are primarily due to the fact that, although urbanization is not occurring in developing countries at the same rate as it did previously in today's developed ones, the overall rate of population growth is much higher. "The degree of concentration of urban systems reflects a moving equilibrium between economies of agglomeration (centripetal), and diseconomies (centrifugal) and distance costs. Big city environmental costs are externalities not reflected in market prices, and which public authorities are called upon to manage. The choice of public investment in infrastructures can influence, marginally, the patterns of urban systems." (SUMMARY IN ENG)