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Urbanization and poverty reduction: the role of rural diversification and secondary towns 1
Author(s) -
Christiaensen Luc,
Weerdt Joachim,
Todo Yasuyuki
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.29
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1574-0862
pISSN - 0169-5150
DOI - 10.1111/agec.12028
Subject(s) - nonfarm payrolls , diversification (marketing strategy) , urbanization , poverty , economics , tanzania , agriculture , poverty reduction , consumption (sociology) , development economics , economic growth , rural poverty , rural area , panel data , geography , agricultural economics , socioeconomics , political science , business , sociology , social science , archaeology , marketing , law , econometrics
A rather unique panel tracking more than 3,300 individuals from households in rural Kagera, Tanzania, during 1991/1994–2010 shows that about one out of two individuals/households who exited poverty did so by transitioning out of agriculture into the rural nonfarm economy or secondary towns. Only one out of seven exited poverty by migrating to the big cities, even though those moving to the city experienced on average faster consumption growth. Further analysis of a much larger cross‐country panel of 51 developing countries cannot reject that rural diversification and secondary town development lead to more inclusive growth patterns than metropolitization. Indications are that this follows because more of the poor find their way to the rural nonfarm economy and secondary towns, than to distant cities. The development discourse would benefit from shifting beyond the rural–urban dichotomy and focusing more instead on how best to urbanize and develop its rural nonfarm economy and secondary towns.