城市化进程和经济增长外文文献翻译.docx

原文The Ur ba niza tion Pr ocess and Economic Growth:The So-W hatQuestionVERNONHENDERSONThere isanextensive literatureon the urbanizationprocess lookingatbothurbanizationandurbanconcentration,askingwhetherandwhenthereisunderorover-urbanization or under or over urban concentration. Writers argue thatnationalgovernmentpoliciesandnon-democraticinstitutions promote excessiveconcentration-theextenttowhichtheurbanpopulationofacountryisconcentratedinone or two major metropolitan areas-except in former planned economieswheremigration restrictions are enforced. These literatures assume that there is an optimallevel of urbanization or an optimal level of urban concentration, but no research todate has quantitatively examined the assumption and asked the basicso-whatquestion-howgreataretheeconomiclossesfromsignificantdeviationsfromanyoptimaldegreesofurbanconcentration or rates of urbanization? This paper showsthat(1)thereisabestdegreeofurbanconcentration,intermsofmaximizingproductivitygrowth(2)thatbestdegreevarieswiththelevelof development andcountry size, and (3) over or under-concentration can be very costly in termsofproductivity growth. The paper shows also that productivity growth is notstronglyaffected by urbanization per se. Rapid urbanization has often occurred in the faceoflow or negative economic growth over some decades. Moreover, urbanization isatransitory phenomenon where many countries are now fullyurbanized.Keywor ds: growth, primacy,urbanizationThere is an enormous literature on the urbanization process that occurswithdevelopment(seeDavisandHenderson,2003forareview).Thereare two keyaspectstotheprocess.Oneisurbanizationitselfandtheotherisurbanconcentration,orthedegreetowhichurbanresourcesareconcentratedinoneortwolargecities,asopposedtospread overmanycities.Partoftheinterestinthe urbanizationprocessarisesbecauseurbanizationandgrowthseemsointerconnected.Inany year, thesimple correlation coefficient across countries between the percent urbanized inacountryand,s