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In this paper, we provide a novel approach to distinguish livable urban densities from crowded cities and describe how this distinction has proved to be critical in predicting COVID-19 contagion hotspots in cities in low- and middle-income country. Urban population density—considered as the ratio of population to land area, without reference to floor space consumption or other measures of livability—can have large drawbacks. To address this drawback and distinguish between density and crowding, it is important to adjust for measures of floor space as well as open space and neighborhood amenities. We use a dataset on building heights, representative of cities worldwide, to measure densities based on floor area consumption per person as well as apply this measure to develop a COVID-19 hotspot predictive tool to help city leaders prioritize civic and medical resources during the pandemic. We conclude by outlining priority interventions that could enable city leaders and local governments to transform crowded cities into livable places.
Somik Lall; Sameh Wahba. Crowded Cities: New Methodology in COVID-19 Risk Assessment. Sustainability 2021, 13, 7167 .
AMA StyleSomik Lall, Sameh Wahba. Crowded Cities: New Methodology in COVID-19 Risk Assessment. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (13):7167.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSomik Lall; Sameh Wahba. 2021. "Crowded Cities: New Methodology in COVID-19 Risk Assessment." Sustainability 13, no. 13: 7167.
We contribute to the debate on the spatial allocation of infrastructure investments by examining where these investments generate the highest economic return (‘spatial efficiency’), and identifying trade-offs when infrastructure coverage is made more equitable across regions (‘spatial equity’). We estimate models of firm location choice in Uganda, drawing on insights from the new economic geography literature. The main findings show that manufacturing firms gain from being in areas that offer a diverse mix of economic activities. Public infrastructure investments in other locations are likely to attract fewer private investors, and will pose a spatial efficiency–equity trade-off.
Somik V. Lall; Elizabeth Schroeder; Emily Schmidt. Identifying Spatial Efficiency–Equity Trade-offs in Territorial Development Policies: Evidence from Uganda. The Journal of Development Studies 2014, 50, 1717 -1733.
AMA StyleSomik V. Lall, Elizabeth Schroeder, Emily Schmidt. Identifying Spatial Efficiency–Equity Trade-offs in Territorial Development Policies: Evidence from Uganda. The Journal of Development Studies. 2014; 50 (12):1717-1733.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSomik V. Lall; Elizabeth Schroeder; Emily Schmidt. 2014. "Identifying Spatial Efficiency–Equity Trade-offs in Territorial Development Policies: Evidence from Uganda." The Journal of Development Studies 50, no. 12: 1717-1733.
Do local improvements in infrastructure provision improve city competitiveness? What public finance mechanisms stimulate local infrastructure supply? And how do local efforts compare with national decisions of placing inter-regional trunk infrastructure? This chapter examines how the combination of local and national infrastructure supply improve city competitiveness, measured as the city's share of national private investment. A city's proximity to international ports and highways connecting large domestic markets has the largest effect on its competitiveness. In comparison, local infrastructure services –〈M〉 such as municipal roads, street lighting, water supply, and drainage –〈M〉 enhance competitiveness, but their impacts are much smaller. While local efforts are important, they are less likely to be sufficient in cities distant from the country's main trunk infrastructure. The chapter also finds that a city's ability to raise revenues through local taxes and user fees increases infrastructure supply, whereas as inter governmental transfers do not have statistically significant effects.
Somik V. Lall; Hyoung Gun Wang; Uwe Deichmann; Jo Beall; Basudeb Guha-Khasnobis; Ravi Kanbur. Infrastructure and City Competitiveness in India. Urbanization and Development 2010, 251 -267.
AMA StyleSomik V. Lall, Hyoung Gun Wang, Uwe Deichmann, Jo Beall, Basudeb Guha-Khasnobis, Ravi Kanbur. Infrastructure and City Competitiveness in India. Urbanization and Development. 2010; ():251-267.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSomik V. Lall; Hyoung Gun Wang; Uwe Deichmann; Jo Beall; Basudeb Guha-Khasnobis; Ravi Kanbur. 2010. "Infrastructure and City Competitiveness in India." Urbanization and Development , no. : 251-267.
Today, 370 million people live in cities in earthquake prone areas and 310 million in cities with a high probability of tropical cyclones. By 2050 these numbers are likely to more than double, leading to a greater concentration of hazard risk in many of the world's cities. The authors discuss what sets hazard risk in urban areas apart, summarize estimates of valuation of hazard risk, and discuss implications for individual mitigation and public policy. The main conclusions are that urban agglomeration economies change the cost–benefit calculation of hazard mitigation; that good hazard management is first and foremost good general urban management; and that the public sector must perform better in promoting market-based risk reduction by generating and disseminating credible information on hazard risk in cities.
Somik V. Lall; Uwe Deichmann. Density and Disasters: Economics of Urban Hazard Risk. The World Bank Research Observer 2010, 27, 74 -105.
AMA StyleSomik V. Lall, Uwe Deichmann. Density and Disasters: Economics of Urban Hazard Risk. The World Bank Research Observer. 2010; 27 (1):74-105.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSomik V. Lall; Uwe Deichmann. 2010. "Density and Disasters: Economics of Urban Hazard Risk." The World Bank Research Observer 27, no. 1: 74-105.
Somik V. Lall; Uwe Deichmann. Density And Disasters: Economics Of Urban Hazard Risk. The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia 2010, 1 .
AMA StyleSomik V. Lall, Uwe Deichmann. Density And Disasters: Economics Of Urban Hazard Risk. The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia. 2010; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSomik V. Lall; Uwe Deichmann. 2010. "Density And Disasters: Economics Of Urban Hazard Risk." The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia , no. : 1.
Somik V. Lall; Elizabeth Schroeder; Emily Schmidt. Identifying spatial efficiency-equity tradeoffs in territorial development policies: evidence from Uganda. The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia 2009, 1 .
AMA StyleSomik V. Lall, Elizabeth Schroeder, Emily Schmidt. Identifying spatial efficiency-equity tradeoffs in territorial development policies: evidence from Uganda. The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia. 2009; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSomik V. Lall; Elizabeth Schroeder; Emily Schmidt. 2009. "Identifying spatial efficiency-equity tradeoffs in territorial development policies: evidence from Uganda." The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia , no. : 1.
Slum formation is occurring at unprecedented rates. A report by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat, 2003) estimated the number of slum dwellers in 2001 at almost 1 billion, about 32% of the global urban population. While the representation of slum dwellers in the urban population varies across regions, there is no doubt that slum formation is a daunting problem. Slum dwellers account for 71.9% of the urban population in Sub-Saharan Africa, 58% in Southcentral Asia, 36.4% in East Asia, and 32% in Latin America and the Caribbean. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, in his foreword to the UN-Habitat report, warned that “if no serious action is taken, the number of slum dwellers worldwide is projected to rise over the next 30 years to about 2 billion” (p. v).
Basab Dasgupta; Somik V. Lall. Assessing Benefits of Slum Upgrading Programs in Second-Best Settings. Urban Land Markets 2009, 225 -251.
AMA StyleBasab Dasgupta, Somik V. Lall. Assessing Benefits of Slum Upgrading Programs in Second-Best Settings. Urban Land Markets. 2009; ():225-251.
Chicago/Turabian StyleBasab Dasgupta; Somik V. Lall. 2009. "Assessing Benefits of Slum Upgrading Programs in Second-Best Settings." Urban Land Markets , no. : 225-251.
New economic geography has become a mantra for many economists, geographers, and regional scientists. Many recent studies have tested the importance of economic geography for production activities and found a significant association between them. Most of these studies, however, have not taken into account that productivity gains from economic geography, if any, are conditional on firm-location choice. This article illustrates a potential bias that can arise when firm-location choice is not considered in estimating the contribution of economic geography to firm performance. An analysis using microdata of Indian manufacturing firms shows that there is an upward bias in the contribution of economic geography to productivity when firm-location choice is not jointly taken into account as part of production decisions.
Jun Koo; Somik Lall. New Economic Geography: Real or Hype? International Regional Science Review 2007, 30, 3 -19.
AMA StyleJun Koo, Somik Lall. New Economic Geography: Real or Hype? International Regional Science Review. 2007; 30 (1):3-19.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJun Koo; Somik Lall. 2007. "New Economic Geography: Real or Hype?" International Regional Science Review 30, no. 1: 3-19.
The role of infrastructure in economic growth has been the subject of considerable research in the fields of public policy, economics, and planning. In this paper, I examine the contribution of publicly supplied infrastructure to sub national regional growth in India. I first develop and numerically examine a regionally disaggregated model of economic growth to understand the dynamics of private capital and public infrastructure. For the empirical analysis, I use a pooled data set for Indian states to examine if publicly supplied infrastructure is a significant determinant of regional growth and whether there are spatial variations in the productivity effects of infrastructure. The main findings are that transport and communications infrastructure expenditures are significant determinants of regional growth, and the positive benefits accruing from these expenditures come not only from investments made by individual states, but there are positive externalities from network expenditures made by neighboring states. Finally, the out of sample simulated regional growth predictions show divergence in private capital formation between lagging and leading states.
Somik V. Lall. Infrastructure and regional growth, growth dynamics and policy relevance for India. The Annals of Regional Science 2006, 41, 581 -599.
AMA StyleSomik V. Lall. Infrastructure and regional growth, growth dynamics and policy relevance for India. The Annals of Regional Science. 2006; 41 (3):581-599.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSomik V. Lall. 2006. "Infrastructure and regional growth, growth dynamics and policy relevance for India." The Annals of Regional Science 41, no. 3: 581-599.
Strategies to address the problem of informal settlements have focused on slum upgrading, sites-and-services programmes and tenure security. There has been less attention on what enables slum-dwellers to transition into the formal housing sector without direct intervention. This paper investigates residential mobility among slum-dwellers in Bhopal, India. One in five households succeeds in leaving a slum settlement and a major determinant is the ability to save on a regular basis. Due to limited outreach of institutional housing finance, most slum-dwellers rely solely on household savings for purchasing a house. These findings underscore the urgent need to improve savings instruments for slum-dwellers and to downmarket housing finance to reach the poorest residents of rapidly growing cities in developing countries.
Somik V. Lall; Ajay Suri; Uwe Deichmann. Household Savings and Residential Mobility in Informal Settlements in Bhopal, India. Urban Studies 2006, 43, 1025 -1039.
AMA StyleSomik V. Lall, Ajay Suri, Uwe Deichmann. Household Savings and Residential Mobility in Informal Settlements in Bhopal, India. Urban Studies. 2006; 43 (7):1025-1039.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSomik V. Lall; Ajay Suri; Uwe Deichmann. 2006. "Household Savings and Residential Mobility in Informal Settlements in Bhopal, India." Urban Studies 43, no. 7: 1025-1039.
Somik V. Lall; Mattias Lundberg. What Are Public Services Worth, And To Whom ? Non-Parametric Estimation Of Capitalization In Pune. The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia 2006, 1 .
AMA StyleSomik V. Lall, Mattias Lundberg. What Are Public Services Worth, And To Whom ? Non-Parametric Estimation Of Capitalization In Pune. The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia. 2006; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSomik V. Lall; Mattias Lundberg. 2006. "What Are Public Services Worth, And To Whom ? Non-Parametric Estimation Of Capitalization In Pune." The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia , no. : 1.
Somik V. Lall; Harris Selod; Zmarak Shalizi. Rural-Urban Migration In Developing Countries : A Survey Of Theoretical Predictions And Empirical Findings. The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia 2006, 1 .
AMA StyleSomik V. Lall, Harris Selod, Zmarak Shalizi. Rural-Urban Migration In Developing Countries : A Survey Of Theoretical Predictions And Empirical Findings. The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia. 2006; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSomik V. Lall; Harris Selod; Zmarak Shalizi. 2006. "Rural-Urban Migration In Developing Countries : A Survey Of Theoretical Predictions And Empirical Findings." The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia , no. : 1.
Daniel Da Mata; Uwe Deichmann; Vernon J. Henderson; Somik V. Lall; Hyoung Gun Wang. Determinants Of City Growth In Brazil. The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia 2005, 1 .
AMA StyleDaniel Da Mata, Uwe Deichmann, Vernon J. Henderson, Somik V. Lall, Hyoung Gun Wang. Determinants Of City Growth In Brazil. The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia. 2005; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDaniel Da Mata; Uwe Deichmann; Vernon J. Henderson; Somik V. Lall; Hyoung Gun Wang. 2005. "Determinants Of City Growth In Brazil." The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia , no. : 1.
Daniel Da Mata; Uwe Deichmann; Vernon J. Henderson; Somik V. Lall; Hyoung Gun Wang. Examining The Growth Patterns Of Brazilian Cities. The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia 2005, 1 .
AMA StyleDaniel Da Mata, Uwe Deichmann, Vernon J. Henderson, Somik V. Lall, Hyoung Gun Wang. Examining The Growth Patterns Of Brazilian Cities. The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia. 2005; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDaniel Da Mata; Uwe Deichmann; Vernon J. Henderson; Somik V. Lall; Hyoung Gun Wang. 2005. "Examining The Growth Patterns Of Brazilian Cities." The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia , no. : 1.
Somik V. Lall; Ajay Suri; Uwe Deichmann. Household Savings And Residential Mobility In Informal Settlements. The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia 2005, 1 .
AMA StyleSomik V. Lall, Ajay Suri, Uwe Deichmann. Household Savings And Residential Mobility In Informal Settlements. The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia. 2005; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSomik V. Lall; Ajay Suri; Uwe Deichmann. 2005. "Household Savings And Residential Mobility In Informal Settlements." The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia , no. : 1.
The authors argue that spatial inequality of industry location is a primary cause of spatial income inequal- ity in developing nations. Their study focuses on understanding the process of spatial industrial variation: identifying the spatial factors that have cost implications for firms, and the factors that influence the loca- tion decisions of new industrial units. The analysis has two parts. First the authors examine the contribution of economic geography factors to the cost structure of firms in eight industry sectors and show that local industrial diversity is the one factor with significant and substantial cost-reducing effects. They then show that new private sector industrial investments in India are biased toward existing industrial and coastal dis- tricts, whereas state industrial investments (in deep decline after structural reforms) are far less biased toward such districts. The authors conclude that structural reforms lead to increased spatial inequality in industrialization, and therefore, income.
Somik Vinay Lall; Sanjoy Chakravorty. Industrial Location and Spatial Inequality: Theory and Evidence from India. Review of Development Economics 2005, 9, 47 -68.
AMA StyleSomik Vinay Lall, Sanjoy Chakravorty. Industrial Location and Spatial Inequality: Theory and Evidence from India. Review of Development Economics. 2005; 9 (1):47-68.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSomik Vinay Lall; Sanjoy Chakravorty. 2005. "Industrial Location and Spatial Inequality: Theory and Evidence from India." Review of Development Economics 9, no. 1: 47-68.
Uwe Deichmann; Kai Kaiser; Somik V. Lall; Zmarak Shalizi. Agglomeration, Transport, and Regional Development in Indonesia. The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia 2005, 1 .
AMA StyleUwe Deichmann, Kai Kaiser, Somik V. Lall, Zmarak Shalizi. Agglomeration, Transport, and Regional Development in Indonesia. The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia. 2005; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleUwe Deichmann; Kai Kaiser; Somik V. Lall; Zmarak Shalizi. 2005. "Agglomeration, Transport, and Regional Development in Indonesia." The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia , no. : 1.
Jun Koo; Somik V. Lall. Economic Geography: Real or Hype? The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia 2004, 1 .
AMA StyleJun Koo, Somik V. Lall. Economic Geography: Real or Hype? The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia. 2004; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJun Koo; Somik V. Lall. 2004. "Economic Geography: Real or Hype?" The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia , no. : 1.
There are large and sustained differences in the economic performance of sub-national regions in most countries. In this paper, we examine economic structure and productivity in Southern Mexico and compare these to the rest of the country. We employ firm level data from Mexican manufacturing to test the relative importance of firm level characteristics such as human capital and technology adoption compared to external characteristics such as infrastructure quality and regulatory environment in explaining productivity differentials. We find that the economic structure of the South is considerably different from the rest of the country, with the economic landscape being dominated by micro enterprises and a relative specialization in low productivity activities. This coupled with low skill levels and fewer skill upgrading opportunities reduces the performance of Southern firms. Productivity differentials between Southern and other firms, however, only exist for micro enterprises. The econometric analysis shows that while employee training and technology adoption enhance productivity, access to markets through improvements in transport infrastructure linking urban areas also have important productivity effects.
Uwe Deichmann; Marianne Fay; Jun Koo; Somik V. Lall. Economic structure, productivity, and infrastructure quality in Southern Mexico. The Annals of Regional Science 2004, 38, 361 -385.
AMA StyleUwe Deichmann, Marianne Fay, Jun Koo, Somik V. Lall. Economic structure, productivity, and infrastructure quality in Southern Mexico. The Annals of Regional Science. 2004; 38 (3):361-385.
Chicago/Turabian StyleUwe Deichmann; Marianne Fay; Jun Koo; Somik V. Lall. 2004. "Economic structure, productivity, and infrastructure quality in Southern Mexico." The Annals of Regional Science 38, no. 3: 361-385.
Mattias K. A. Lundberg; Mudit Kapoor; Somik V. Lall; Zmarak Shalizi. Location and Welfare in Cities: Impacts of Policy Interventions on the Urban Poor. The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia 2004, 1 .
AMA StyleMattias K. A. Lundberg, Mudit Kapoor, Somik V. Lall, Zmarak Shalizi. Location and Welfare in Cities: Impacts of Policy Interventions on the Urban Poor. The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia. 2004; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMattias K. A. Lundberg; Mudit Kapoor; Somik V. Lall; Zmarak Shalizi. 2004. "Location and Welfare in Cities: Impacts of Policy Interventions on the Urban Poor." The Long-Term Legacy of the Khmer Rouge Period in Cambodia , no. : 1.