Trade and Urbanisation
Published online on August 13, 2015
Abstract
Insights from economics of geography suggest that greater urbanisation should lead to an increased level of trade. Larger exporting markets should also provide incentives for agglomeration. Using a novel instrumental variables approach, this study provides empirical evidence that suggests that within country urbanisation has a strong positive impact on exports of the modern sector, while exports too have a positive impact on urbanisation. Consistent with model predictions, urbanisation is also associated with a decline in exports and increase in imports in the primary sector.