‘Urban Bias’, the Political Economy of Development and Urban Policies for Developing Countries
Author(s)
Pugh, Cedric
Abstract
Although theories of urban-rural economic balance and urban bias have fundamental significance for urban economic development, much of the relevance is either unacknowledged or misunderstood. The results of some modern research shed light on the outstanding issues from past controversies; in the context of developing countries, the World Bank and other leading policy-makers have been advocating a closer relationship between macroeconomic and urban policy development; and economic policies for structural adjustment have been indirectly removing some of the structures which supported the political economy of urban bias. This article gives an exposition, an interpretation and a review of the relationships between urban bias, the political economy of development and urban processes and policies for developing countries.
