Poor Places, Thriving People

316

Geographic character of lagging area population (%) Far from major cities Close to major cities

Country

MENA13

Sparse

Dense

1 5

3 91

Sparse 6j 5j

Dense 33 j 56 j

Lebanon: Lagging Area Typology

Sources: Elevation, SRTM30 (2000); land cover, GLC2000 (2000); population, Landscan (2005); rail, VMAP0 (1997); rivers, CIA World Data Bank II (1980s); roads, Euro-med (2000) and VMAP0 (1997); slope, in degrees, SRTM30 (2000); urban areas, GPW3-GRUMP (2000); water bodies, Global Lakes and Wetlands Database layer 1 (2004).

Poor Places, Thriving People

Published on Jan 13, 2011

World Bank Publications

About

Geographical differences in living standards are a pressing concern for policymakers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Economies of agglomeration mean that production is most efficient when concentrated in leading areas. So how can the region reduce spatial disparities in well-being without compromising growth? The solution to spatial disparities lies in matching the policy package to a lagging area’s specific characteristics. Key questions include: is the lagging area problem really as serious as one thinks; is it a problem of low economic opportunity or of poor human development; are lagging area populations close enough to agglomerations to benefit from spillovers; and is there manifest private investor interest? Drawing on the World Bank’s 2009 World Development Report, Reshaping Economic Geography, the book proposes 3 policy packages.

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