Friday, September 7, 2018
8:30am to 7:30pm
Preston Auditorium, The World Bank
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, D.C., 20433
Across the developing world, the growth of cities is outpacing effective policy. Low density land use results in rapidly expanding cities, raising the costs of infrastructure and service provision and limiting liveability and productivity. At the same time, limited investments in transport infrastructure such as roads limits the connectivity between individuals and opportunities that make cities engines for growth. Effective policy to address these challenges requires an understanding of the spatial organisation of cities, and how the distribution of private and public investments across a city affect economic growth.
On 7 September 2018, the 5th Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Conference will bring together academics and development practitioners to present and discuss questions relating to the spatial organisation of cities and economic growth. In particular, the conference will be focusing on effective land and transport policy in cities and the implications of urban development for national growth. This conference is hosted by the World Bank (Development Research Group), George Washington University (Institute for International Economic Policy), the International Monetary Fund, and the International Growth Centre.
- 8:30-9:00 – Coffee and Registration
- 9:00-10:45 – Welcoming Remarks
- Chair and Moderator:
Shantayanan Devarajan
Senior Director, Development Economics, World Bank - Panelists:
Aisa Kirabo Kacyira
Deputy Director UN-Habitat, former mayor of Kigali
Edward Glaeser
Professor of Economics, Harvard and International Growth Center
- Chair and Moderator:
- 10:45-11:00 – Coffee Break
- 11:00 -12:30 – Session One: Land
- Mini Keynote: Informal Land Use
Harris Selod
Development Research Group, The World Bank - Backyarding
Jan Brueckner, Claus Rabe, and Harris Selod - Compactness
Vernon Henderson - Chair:
TBC - Discussant:
Mariaflavia Harari
Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania
- Mini Keynote: Informal Land Use
- 12:30-13:30 – Lunch
- 13.30-14:15 – Keynote Address:
- The Geography of Development
Esteban Rossi-Hansberg
Princeton University - Chair:
Asli Demirguc-Kunt
Research Director, Development Research Group, World Bank
- The Geography of Development
- 14:15 -15:45 – Session Two: Transportation
- Mini Keynote: “Cars in Cities”
Matthew Kahn - Transport in a Congested City – A Computer Equilibrium Model Applied to Kampala City
Louise Bernard, Julia Bird, Tony Venables - Who Wins? Who Loses? Understanding the Spatially Differentiated Effects of Belt and Road within Central Asia
Bader El Hifnawy, Somik Lall, Mathilde Lebrand - Chair:
Marianna Fay
Chief Economist, Climate Change - Discussant:
Leah Brooks
Assistant Professor, George Washington University
- Mini Keynote: “Cars in Cities”
- 15:45-16:00 – Coffee Break
- 16:00-17:30 – Session Three: Urbanization, Growth, and Development
- Mini Keynote:
Douglas Gollin - In Search of a Spatial Equilibrium in the Developing World
Douglas Gollin, Martina Kirchberger, David Lagakos - Modern Urban Technology and the Future of the New Urban Giants
Remi Jedwab, Prakash Loungani, Anthony Yezer - Chair:
Chris Papageorgiou
International Monetary Fund - Discussant:
Deniz Igan
Deputy Division Chief, Research Department’s Macro Financial Division, IMF
- Mini Keynote:
- 17:30-18:00 – Break
- 18:00-19:30 – Cocktail Reception and Welcome Speech by Maggie Chen
- At George Washington University, Lindner Commons Room (6th Floor) of the Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E St. N.W. (at the intersection of E and 19th Streets, on E Street), Washington, DC.
