When Urbanization Doesn't Help

Urbanization has long been a powerful engine of economic growth in the United States, Europe, and advanced western nations. But the connection between urbanization and growth is far weaker in developing nations, which not coincidentally are undergoing the greatest wave of urbanization in human history. In fact, many of these places are experiencing the potentially devastating phenomena of “urbanization without growth,” leaving billions of residents mired in poverty. A new study from Edward Glaeser and his colleagues at Harvard University compares the process of urbanization in three of the world’s largest emerging economies—Brazil, China, and India—to that of the United States.

The level and pace of urbanization has varied in each country. Starting in 1965, the U.S. was already around 70 percent urban, Brazil was nearly one-half urban, and India and China were almost entirely rural. Over the past five decades, China has urbanized rapidly, reaching a little less than 60 percent by 2015. India’s urban growth has been much slower, rising from 18 percent in 1960 to 31 percent by 2010. Brazil is the most urbanized of the bunch, with an urbanization level of more than 80 percent—greater than that of the United States. Generally speaking, Latin America tends to be far more more urbanized than Asia, although Asia is expected to see rapid urbanization in the coming decades.