World Bank calls for policy change
Apr 07, 2009
POLICIES that focus on creating strong common institutions and infrastructure building are vital for economic integration, the World Bank has said. In the “World Development Report 2009; Reshaping Economic Geographyâ€, the bank says spreading economic
By Sylvia Juuko
and Alice Kiingi
POLICIES that focus on creating strong common institutions and infrastructure building are vital for economic integration, the World Bank has said. In the “World Development Report 2009; Reshaping Economic Geographyâ€, the bank says spreading economic activities across the country may not benefit the poor as has been argued in the past.
“Spreading out economic activities can hinder growth and does little to fight poverty.
“For rapid, shared growth, governments must promote economic integration, which allows mobility of people, products and ideas,†Somik Lall, a senior economist, said while launching the report at the World Bank offices in Kampala on Monday.
Lall, one of the report’s authors, noted that Uganda should focus on making land markets work because it was at an early stage of urbanisation.
“If land markets work, the price of the land will provide incentives for farmers to specialise in cash crops and increase production. Farmers should have property rights over land and more agricultural incentives to increase production,†he said.
Lall noted that rural-urban migration could be controlled if agro-processing was extended to smaller towns linked to Kampala, to provide financial and producer services.
“We need successful rural development for efficient urbanisation.
“We shouldn’t focus on bigger cities, but the Government needs to connect them to smaller towns,†he added.
Lall argued that transformation in Africa should be promoted along three dimensions of economic geography that include density, distance and division.
“No country has grown to high income without urbanising. Growth doesn’t comes without the need to move closer to density. Growth also seldom comes to a place that is isolated from others,†Lall observed.
The WB’s report argues that urbanization, mobility and regional exchanges should be encouraged with the overall objective to facilitate market access.
According to the report, regions matter greatly in deciding what is needed, necessary and what will fail. “By adjusting to these policies developing nations can reshape their economic regions much as developed economies have done in the past,†Lall observed.
Lall added that emphasis on spatially targeting interventions alone cannot lead to economic transformation.
“Governments can build institutions to ensure everyone benefits and put in place infrastructure that link less developed to more developed areas. They can also use incentives likes such as preferential access to markets.â€
and Alice Kiingi
POLICIES that focus on creating strong common institutions and infrastructure building are vital for economic integration, the World Bank has said. In the “World Development Report 2009; Reshaping Economic Geographyâ€, the bank says spreading economic activities across the country may not benefit the poor as has been argued in the past.
“Spreading out economic activities can hinder growth and does little to fight poverty.
“For rapid, shared growth, governments must promote economic integration, which allows mobility of people, products and ideas,†Somik Lall, a senior economist, said while launching the report at the World Bank offices in Kampala on Monday.
Lall, one of the report’s authors, noted that Uganda should focus on making land markets work because it was at an early stage of urbanisation.
“If land markets work, the price of the land will provide incentives for farmers to specialise in cash crops and increase production. Farmers should have property rights over land and more agricultural incentives to increase production,†he said.
Lall noted that rural-urban migration could be controlled if agro-processing was extended to smaller towns linked to Kampala, to provide financial and producer services.
“We need successful rural development for efficient urbanisation.
“We shouldn’t focus on bigger cities, but the Government needs to connect them to smaller towns,†he added.
Lall argued that transformation in Africa should be promoted along three dimensions of economic geography that include density, distance and division.
“No country has grown to high income without urbanising. Growth doesn’t comes without the need to move closer to density. Growth also seldom comes to a place that is isolated from others,†Lall observed.
The WB’s report argues that urbanization, mobility and regional exchanges should be encouraged with the overall objective to facilitate market access.
According to the report, regions matter greatly in deciding what is needed, necessary and what will fail. “By adjusting to these policies developing nations can reshape their economic regions much as developed economies have done in the past,†Lall observed.
Lall added that emphasis on spatially targeting interventions alone cannot lead to economic transformation.
“Governments can build institutions to ensure everyone benefits and put in place infrastructure that link less developed to more developed areas. They can also use incentives likes such as preferential access to markets.â€