ICTlogy

Abstract:

Economic growth will be unbalanced, but development still can be inclusive. That is the main message of this year’s World Development Report. The report proposes that spatial transformations along the following three dimensions will be necessary:

Density

Higher density as seen in the growth of cities. Tokyo, the world’s largest city is home to 35 million--a quarter of Japan’s population--but stands on just four percent of its land.

Distance

Shorter distances as firms and workers migrate closer to economic opportunities. Eight million Americans change states every year, migrating to reduce distance to economic opportunity.

Division

Fewer divisions as countries thin their economic borders to enter world markets to take advantage of specialization and scale. Border restrictions to flows of goods, capital, ideas, and people continue to prevent progress in Africa, in contrast with Western Europe.