Urbanization and (In)Formalization
Inexorable urbanization and formalization have been the expectations in development discourse. Indeed, measures of urbanization and formalization have been provided and used as indicators of development. But while urbanization has proceeded apace i...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/11/18868575/urbanization-formalization http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17744 |
| Summary: | Inexorable urbanization and
formalization have been the expectations in development
discourse. Indeed, measures of urbanization and
formalization have been provided and used as indicators of
development. But while urbanization has proceeded apace in
developing countries, formalization has slowed significantly
over the past quarter century. These disconnect raises
questions for development analysis and development policy.
Why did one expect urbanization and formalization to go
together in the first place? Is the link between
urbanization and formalization more complex than what had
once thought? What then explains the recent disconnect
between urbanization and formalization? Is formalization a
reasonable policy goal? May urbanization policies and
formalization policies conflict? If so, what can be done to
resolve the conflicts? These are the questions this paper
addresses. The paper has three core sections. The first
section asks what exactly is meant by formality and
informality. The second section turns to urbanization
processes and asks how they intersect with and interact with
the incentives to formalize. The third section looks at
policy. Each view of how urbanization feeds formalization
has distinctive policy conclusions. |
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