Urbanization and Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Cham, Awa (2025): Urbanization and Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Abstract

There is a lack of consensus on how urbanization contributes to economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using a panel data of sub-Saharan African countries spanning the years 2012 - 2019, we estimate a two-way fixed effects model, and our results indicate a positive relationship between Urbanization and Economic Development. Furthermore, we also find that this effect is amplified by existing levels of basic education, contribution of the services sector to GDP, and measures of institutional quality. Our results hence provide directions for development policy in this region.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Urbanization, Agglomeration
• Subjects: O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O18 - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis ; Housing ; Infrastructure; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R0 - General > R00 - General

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