Leveraging the Potential of Argentine Cities

Leveraging the Potential of Argentine Cities PDF Author: Elisa Muzzini
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464808414
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 612

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Book Description
Argentina’s path to economic prosperity is through efficient, sustainable and economically thriving cities. Not only are cities a spatial concentration of people, but also they generate agglomeration economies by concentrating ideas, talent, and knowledge. Argentina is one of the most urbanized countries in Latin America, with 90 percent of Argentine people currently living in cities. Argentina’s cities are geographically and economically diverse, and its largest urban area – Metropolitan Buenos Aires – is one of Latin America’s urban giants.Argentine cities need to address three main challenges to leverage their economic potential. Argentina’s current patterns of urban development are characterized by (a) high primacy and unbalanced regional development, (b) limited global economic footprint of urban economies, with employment concentrated in nontradable and resource intensive sectors, and (c) unplanned low-density urban expansion. Argentine cities thus face the challenges of moving toward a more balanced regional development, transitioning from local to global cities, and from urban sprawl to articulated densities to take full advantage of the benefits of agglomeration economies. To address these challenges, Argentina needs the leadership of the federal government; the coordinating power of provinces; and the capacity of empowered, financially sound municipalities. Argentine cities also need system-wide policy reforms in areas such as territorial planning, municipal finance, housing, urban transport, and local economic development.Leveraging the Potential of Argentine Cities: A Framework for Policy Action aims to deepen our empirical understanding of the interplay between urbanization and agglomeration economies in Argentina by asking the following: (a) What are the main trends and spatial patterns of Argentina’s urbanization that underlie agglomeration economies?, (b) Are urban policies leveraging or undermining the benefits of agglomeration economies?, and (c) Are Argentine cities fully reaping the benefits of agglomeration economies to deliver improvements in prosperity and livability? By addressing such questions and exploring their implications for action, this study provides a conceptual framework, empirical data, and strategic directions for leveraging the potential of Argentine cities.

Leveraging the Potential of Argentine Cities

Leveraging the Potential of Argentine Cities PDF Author: Elisa Muzzini
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464808414
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 612

Get Book Here

Book Description
Argentina’s path to economic prosperity is through efficient, sustainable and economically thriving cities. Not only are cities a spatial concentration of people, but also they generate agglomeration economies by concentrating ideas, talent, and knowledge. Argentina is one of the most urbanized countries in Latin America, with 90 percent of Argentine people currently living in cities. Argentina’s cities are geographically and economically diverse, and its largest urban area – Metropolitan Buenos Aires – is one of Latin America’s urban giants.Argentine cities need to address three main challenges to leverage their economic potential. Argentina’s current patterns of urban development are characterized by (a) high primacy and unbalanced regional development, (b) limited global economic footprint of urban economies, with employment concentrated in nontradable and resource intensive sectors, and (c) unplanned low-density urban expansion. Argentine cities thus face the challenges of moving toward a more balanced regional development, transitioning from local to global cities, and from urban sprawl to articulated densities to take full advantage of the benefits of agglomeration economies. To address these challenges, Argentina needs the leadership of the federal government; the coordinating power of provinces; and the capacity of empowered, financially sound municipalities. Argentine cities also need system-wide policy reforms in areas such as territorial planning, municipal finance, housing, urban transport, and local economic development.Leveraging the Potential of Argentine Cities: A Framework for Policy Action aims to deepen our empirical understanding of the interplay between urbanization and agglomeration economies in Argentina by asking the following: (a) What are the main trends and spatial patterns of Argentina’s urbanization that underlie agglomeration economies?, (b) Are urban policies leveraging or undermining the benefits of agglomeration economies?, and (c) Are Argentine cities fully reaping the benefits of agglomeration economies to deliver improvements in prosperity and livability? By addressing such questions and exploring their implications for action, this study provides a conceptual framework, empirical data, and strategic directions for leveraging the potential of Argentine cities.

Cities and Economic Inequality in Latin America

Cities and Economic Inequality in Latin America PDF Author: Lena Simet
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000569616
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
This book examines trends and determinants of economic inequality in cities in Latin America, the world’s most unequal region. It explores how the gap between the haves and the have nots manifests in every part of urban life – from housing to schooling to employment. It asks why some cities have higher inequality than others and what we can learn from these differences as we push back against inequality. The book starts with reviewing the policies and forces that explain the rise and fall of inequality in Latin America since the 1990s and why progress in reducing inequality has stalled. It then focuses on Argentina’s cities and applies a set of quantitative tools to identify inequality determinants. It finds that intra-urban inequality generally mirrors national-level trends, but local idiosyncrasies related to a city’s labor market, informal employment, and social protection systems matter. The book discusses the pitfalls of privatizing public services that turned access to water in metropolitan Buenos Aires more unequal. It explores the promises and unintended consequences of slum upgrading initiatives in Buenos Aires’ Villa 20. The book presents lessons that can inform policies and practices in the region and beyond. Developing a strategy against inequality that incorporates local features and resists the temptation to rely on the "free market" for solutions to urban problems offers a powerful opportunity. Drawing from the field of economics and social and urban policy, this book shows that the battle against inequality is not only won and lost in cities but also requires a uniquely public and urban response. As such, it will be of interest to advanced students, researchers, and policymakers across development economics, urban studies, and Latin American studies.

Raising the Bar for Productive Cities in Latin America and the Caribbean

Raising the Bar for Productive Cities in Latin America and the Caribbean PDF Author: María Marta Ferreyra
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464812705
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 383

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Book Description
With more than 70 percent of its population living in cities, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is among the most urbanized regions in the world. Yet, although its cities are, on average, more productive than those elsewhere in the world, their productivity lags that of North American and Western European cities. Closing this gap provides LAC with the opportunity to raise living standards and join the ranks of the world’s richest countries.Raising the Bar: Cities and Productivity in Latin America and the Caribbean is about the productivity of cities in LAC and the factors that help to explain its determination. Based on original empirical research, the report documents the high levels of population density and other features of LAC cities that mark them out from those in the rest of the world. The report also studies the role of three key factors – urban form, skills, and access to markets – in determining the productivity of LAC cities. It shows that while excessive congestion forces and inadequate metropolitan coordination seem to be stifling the benefits of agglomeration, LAC cities benefit from strong human capital externalities. It also finds that, within individual LAC countries, cities are poorly integrated with one another, which contributes to large differences in performance across cities and undermines their aggregate contribution to productivity at the national level.

Transit Oriented Development and Sustainable Cities

Transit Oriented Development and Sustainable Cities PDF Author: Richard D. Knowles,
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 178897171X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
This book provides new dimensions and a contemporary focus on sustainable transport, urban regeneration and development in eight countries spanning four continents at different stages of development. It examines the role of transit oriented development (TOD) in improving urban sustainability and providing different transport choices, exploring how these can be implemented in modern cities.

The Evolving Geography of Productivity and Employment

The Evolving Geography of Productivity and Employment PDF Author: Elena Ianchovichina
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464820279
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
The Evolving Geography of Productivity and Employment: Ideas for Inclusive Growth through a Territorial Lens in Latin America and the Caribbean employs a territorial lens to understand the persistently low economic growth rates in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Using new data and methods, it shows that deindustrialization, distance, and divisions offer intertwined explanations for an urban productivity paradox in the LAC region: its highly dense cities should be among the world’s most productive, yet they are not. LAC cities have been held back by lack of dynamism, poor connectivity, and divisions into disconnected poor and affluent neighborhoods. Deindustrialization has shifted urban employment, especially in the largest LAC cities, away from manufacturing and toward less dynamic, low-productivity nontradable activities, such as retail trade and personal and other services, that profit less from agglomeration, especially in highly congested cities. Although employment in urban tradable services has risen, the increase has not been strong enough to offset the decline in manufacturing employment. Meanwhile, intercity connectivity issues have undermined the performance of the region’s network of cities by restricting market access and firms’ ability to benefit from specialization in smaller cities. Within cities, poor connectivity and residential labor market segregation have limited the gains from agglomeration to neighborhoods in central business districts where formal firms operate. Informality has persisted in low-income neighborhoods, where residents face multiple deprivations. By contrast, many agricultural and mining areas have benefited from the strong demand for commodities by China and other fast-growing economies, particularly during the Golden Decade (2003†“13), leading to a decline in territorial inequality in most countries in the region. The report concludes that to encourage inclusive growth, countries must more efficiently transform natural wealth into human capital, infrastructure, and institutions and improve the competitiveness of the urban economy. It then sketches out the contours of such a development strategy, identifying policy priorities at the national, regional, and local levels.

La evolución geográfica de la productividad y el empleo

La evolución geográfica de la productividad y el empleo PDF Author: Elena Ianchovichina
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464820902
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
En La evolución geográfica de la productividad y el empleo: Ideas para lograr un crecimiento inclusivo a través de una perspectiva territorial en América Latina y el Caribe se utiliza una perspectiva territorial para comprender las tasas de crecimiento económico persistentemente bajas de América Latina y el Caribe (ALC). Utilizando nuevos datos y métodos, se muestra que la desindustrialización, la distancia y las divisiones son factores interrelacionados que explican la paradoja de la productividad urbana en ALC, a saber: las ciudades densamente pobladas deberían estar entre las más productivas del mundo, pero no lo están. Las ciudades de ALC se han visto frenadas por la falta de dinamismo, la mala conectividad y las divisiones en barrios pobres y prósperos desconectados. A causa de la desindustrialización, el empleo urbano se ha desplazado, especialmente en las ciudades más grandes de la región, de las manufacturas a actividades no comercializables menos dinámicas y de baja productividad, como el comercio minorista y los servicios personales y de otra índole, que se benefician menos con la aglomeración, sobre todo en ciudades muy congestionadas. Si bien el empleo en el sector de los servicios comercializables urbanos ha aumentado, el alza ha sido lo suficientemente firme como para compensar la disminución del empleo en el sector manufacturero. Al mismo tiempo, los problemas de conectividad interurbana han menoscabado el desempeño de la red de ciudades de la región, dado que restringen el acceso a los mercados y la capacidad de las empresas para beneficiarse de la especialización reubicándose en ciudades más pequeñas. Dentro de las ciudades, la conectividad deficiente y la segregación del mercado laboral residencial han limitado los beneficios de la aglomeración a los vecindarios de los distritos comerciales centrales donde operan las empresas formales. La informalidad ha persistido en los barrios de bajos ingresos, cuyos habitantes enfrentan múltiples privaciones. En cambio, muchas zonas agrícolas y mineras se han beneficiado con la fuerte demanda de productos básicos por parte de China y otras economías de rápido crecimiento, particularmente durante la década dorada (2003-13), lo que llevó a una disminución de la desigualdad territorial en la mayoría de los países de la región. Se concluye que, para fomentar el crecimiento inclusivo, los países deben transformar más eficientemente la riqueza natural en capital humano, infraestructura e instituciones, y mejorar la competitividad de la economía urbana. En tal sentido, se esbozan los contornos de dicha strategia de desarrollo, identificando las prioridades en materia de políticas a nivel nacional, regional y local.

Voices to Choices

Voices to Choices PDF Author: Jennifer L. Solotaroff
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464813744
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
Women have experienced significant changes in various spheres of their lives during the last decades as Bangladesh made economic progress. Yet women’s economic engagement and empowerment are subdued, as they cannot make sufficient choices for themselves. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the economic developments in gender equality in Bangladesh. Through examining women’s participation in the labour force, ownership and control of household assets, use and control of financial assets, and opportunities for entrepreneurship, the authors have made concrete recommendations to overcome challenges that lie ahead for women’s economic empowerment. This book is an important contribution to the knowledge on interventions required by the policy makers and broader stakeholders towards narrowing gender gaps. --Fahmida Khatun, PhD, Executive Director, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh The women’s story is central to Bangladesh’s economic and social transformation. There is an urgent need to deepen researched understanding of the multidimensional pathways of women’s economic empowerment and extent of real progress made. Voices to Choices is an important contribution to this story. Surely, the journey of women’s economic empowerment remains a long and challenging one. Realizing the full benefits of new opportunities is often hampered by both new and entrenched insecurities. The task is as much one of empowering women’s agency as of dismantling barriers. The responsibility is as much women’s as society’s. --Hossain Zillur Rahman, PhD, Executive Chairman, Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) This book provides critical insights and is timely, as it outlines how girls and women in Bangladesh have gained more opportunities in labor force participation, control over household and financial assets, as well as greater prospects for entrepreneurship. The findings will greatly contribute to future policy and planning for government and key stakeholders working to advance women’s economic empowerment in the country. --Sabina Faiz Rashid, PhD, Dean and Professor, BRAC James P. Grant School of Public Health BRAC University

The Routledge Handbook of Planning Megacities in the Global South

The Routledge Handbook of Planning Megacities in the Global South PDF Author: Deden Rukmana
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000062031
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 451

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Book Description
Cities are now home to 55% of the world’s population, and that number is rising. Urban populations across the world will continue to grow, including in megacities with populations over ten million. In 2016 there were 31 megacities globally, according to the United Nations’ World Cities Report, with 24 of those cities located in the Global South. That number is expected to rise to 41 by 2030, with all ten new megacities in the Global South where the processes of urbanization are intrinsically distinct from those in the Global North. The Routledge Handbook of Planning Megacities in the Global South provides rigorous comparative analyses, discussing the challenges, processes, best practices, and initiatives of urbanization in Middle America, South America, the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. This book is indispensable reading for students and scholars of urban planning, and its significance as a resource will only continue to grow as urbanization reshapes the global population.

The Century of Global Cities

The Century of Global Cities PDF Author: Andrea Tobia Zevi
Publisher: Ledizioni
ISBN: 8855260901
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 110

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Book Description
Cities are gaining importance and influence worldwide. They sustain the global economy, set cultural trends, produce greenhouse gas emissions and consume energy; they attract migration flows and foster new political waves. While cities were supposed to be declining back in the 1980s, the globalised economy has established them as crucial world hubs leading billions of people on every continent, both at the top and the bottom of the social ladder, to move to cities. Today, global cities cry out for a more prominent role. But why and to what extent do they matter? Can they really stand alone in the global arena? How are they interacting with governments and multilateral organisations? From climate change to connectivity, from inequalities to migration: what is their contribution to key global challenges?

Reforming Infrastructure

Reforming Infrastructure PDF Author: Ioannis Nicolaos Kessides
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
Electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, railways, and water supply, are often vertically and horizontally integrated state monopolies. This results in weak services, especially in developing and transition economies, and for poor people. Common problems include low productivity, high costs, bad quality, insufficient revenue, and investment shortfalls. Many countries over the past two decades have restructured, privatized and regulated their infrastructure. This report identifies the challenges involved in this massive policy redirection. It also assesses the outcomes of these changes, as well as their distributional consequences for poor households and other disadvantaged groups. It recommends directions for future reforms and research to improve infrastructure performance, identifying pricing policies that strike a balance between economic efficiency and social equity, suggesting rules governing access to bottleneck infrastructure facilities, and proposing ways to increase poor people's access to these crucial services.