An investigation of the relationship between economic development and urban primacy in 95 developing countries is carried out through a series of procedures designed to flow from cross-sectional techniques to longitudinal statistical tests. Economic development is here defined as a country's growth of gross national product (GNP) per capita to allow for comparisons with previous development studies. Urban primacy, measured by an index of urban population concentration, is an indicator of a country's level of polarized urbanization, which is representative of national development inequities. / Previous study findings of a negative relationship between a country's economic development and its degree of urban primacy are questioned. The chief policy implication of these earlier findings is the notion that the continued growth of a developing country's economy will eventually reduce its level of urban primacy, thereby diminishing the problems associated with over-populated cities while providing increased equity in national development by dispersing investments down the urban hierarchy. This notion is consistent with neoclassical economic theories of "trickle-down" processes in the long run, and often results in the formulation of policies designed to focus on economic growth in the short run. The emphasis has therefore been on economic efficiency now and social equity later. / This study finds that the relationship between economic development and urban primacy in developing countries is not negative. The implication is that policy intervention, rather than patience, is necessary to combat urban primacy and to provide for equitable national development. The need for national spatial planning in developing countries is reasserted as an appropriate means of balancing equity and efficiency in development planning. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-08, Section: A, page: 2897. / Major Professor: Michael Micklin. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_78286 |
| Contributors | LaRosa, Frank., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 233 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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