This paper develops a dynamic model that explains the pattern of population and production allocation in an economy with an urban location and a rural one. Agglomeration economies make urban dwellers benefit from a larger population living in the city and urban firms become more productive when...

The South Asia region is home to the largest pool of individuals living under the poverty line, coupled with a fast-growing population. The importance of access to basic infrastructure services on welfare and the quality of life is clear. Yet the South Asia region's rates of access to...

If the South Asia region hopes to meet its development goals and not risk slowing down or even halting growth, poverty alleviation, and shared prosperity, it is essential to make closing its huge infrastructure gap a priority. Identifying and addressing gaps in the data on expenditure, access,...

While South Asia’s average gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the past decade was only slightly lower than in East Asia and the Pacific, the region significantly lags behind in terms of infrastructure access. In some cases, South Asia’s access levels are more similar to sub-Saharan...

This paper proposes an economic logic for underpinning decentralization in the infrastructure sectors. It starts by detailing the definition of the infrastructure gap and the methodologies to calculate it. It provides some global trends for developing countries in terms of the gap and briefly...

This paper analyzes the process of Internet diffusion across the world using a panel of 214 countries during the period 1990-2004. Countries are classified as low- or high-income and it is shown that the diffusion process is characterized by a different S-shaped curve in each group. The...

This paper analyzes the process of Internet diffusion across the world using a panel of 214 countries during the period 1990-2004. Countries are classified as low and high-income and it is shown that the diffusion process is characterized by a different S-shape in each group. The estimated...

This paper analyzes the process of Internet diffusion across the world using a panel of 199 countries during 1990-2004. The authors group countries in two categories-low and high-income countries-and show that the Internet diffusion process is well characterized by an S-shape curve for both...

The unique biodiversity of the Sundarbans is threatened by a number of factors, many of which are the direct or indirect result of market failures. Past governmental interventions aiming at protecting biodiversity have been ineffective, while other government efforts have directly or indirectly...

The Handbook on Contingent Valuation is unique in that it focuses on contingent valuation as a method for evaluating environmental change. It examines econometric issues, conceptual underpinnings, implementation issues as well as alternatives to contingent valuation. Anna Alberini and James Kahn...