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Showing all content in Cities
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Blog post
From transport to growth corridor: Do communities benefit from the Central Railway Transit Corridor in Tanzania?
The government of Tanzania has embarked on a journey to revive the railways, through its investment in the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) on the central corridor. The 2,561 km Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line will connect the port of Dar es Salaam to Tanzania's land-locked neighbours (Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and Eastern DR Congo). The project is estimated to cost $14.2...
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Data Item
Data: Dynamics of development: Infrastructure, migration and crowding
The direct benefits of infrastructure in developing countries can be large, but if new infrastructure induces in-migration, congestion of other local publicly provided goods may o↵set the direct benefits. Using the example of rural household electrification in South Africa, we demonstrate the importance of accounting for migration when evaluating welfare gains of spatial...
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Data Item
Data: Urban Transportation, Land Use, and Growth: Evidence from China 1995-2010
This paper investigates how the extent and configuration of Chinese road and railroad networks has shaped the spatial transformation and degree of compactness of Chinese urban regions in the last 20 years, a period in which center cities were experiencing strong population inflows but relative losses of industry to the urban periphery. We find strong evidence that the...
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Data Item
Data: Economic Impact of Urban Property Rights in Tanzania: The Role of Infrastructure
While multiple studies have shown that a woman’s control over land is positively associated with bargaining power outcomes, few have succeeded in highlighting successful methods for increasing this control. We report on a policy experiment in an unplanned settlement in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, that provided access to formal land titles to informal settlers at randomized...
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Data Item
Data: Railroad to Growth: Evaluating the Impact of Investments in Railroads on Firm Behaviour
This paper investigates the impact of investments in transport infrastructure on firm performance. Using an original survey of approximately 900 firms in Southern Africa, I estimate the impact of access to a railway on firm sales. Exposure to railway infrastructure is instrumented by geographic proximity to the historical layout of a railway line destroyed by a civil war in...
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Blog post
Wage returns for work experience: Development and urbanisation
Globally, on average, people spend ten years in school but work for 40 years. People learn valuable skills in school and at work. Students who advance on to employment have the opportunity to continue to accumulate human capital and wage increases in relation to their work experience. In developing economies, students face obstacles in accruing such employment...
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Project
Understanding unplanned settlement dynamics in the city of Kigali
Kigali is Rwanda’s main urban centre and accommodates about half the urban population. Rapid urban growth in Kigali has led to the development of unplanned settlements. Unplanned areas, characterised by inferior living conditions such as limited access to infrastructure, limited plot accessibility, and rudimentary housing construction-materials, pose a long-term risk to...
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Publication - Project Report
The dynamics of unplanned settlements in the City of Kigali
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Multimedia Item - Video
Land reform: Lessons from Rwanda
Thierry Hoza Ngoga (Rwanda's former Head of Land Technical Operations) discusses how Rwanda reformed its land policy through a series of interventions over several years.
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Publication - Policy paper
Strategies for effective procurement and public-private partnerships in the transport sector
Around the world, investments in transport infrastructure have risen to the top of the urban policy agenda. Effective urban mobility provides the foundation for economic prosperity, environmental sustainability, and social inclusion. It is now widely understood that after decades of underinvestment, there is a vast need for cities globally to upgrade and expand...