Rural-Urban Dichotomies and Spatial Development in Asia

This edited book brings together in one place new studies of rural-urban interactions and their implications for regional growth and development in different regions within Asia. Specifically, the individual chapters in the book shed light on the different kinds of rural-urban interactions that we witness in Asian regions, particularly those that are based on migration, poverty, inequality, education, economic dependence, and the flow of goods and services. The book departs from the existing literature in three ways. First, it explicitly recognizes that different kinds of rural-urban interactions have dissimilar impacts on the lives and hence on the welfare of the residents of rural and urban regions. Second, the book emphasizes the varied spatial and temporal dimensions of the interactions and the ways in which these dimensions influence rural and urban societies. Third, this book demonstrates the ways in which an understanding of the preceding two points contributes to our knowledge about economic growth and development. Because Asia is the fastest-growing and most dynamic continent in the world today, the research delineated in the individual chapters of the book provides practical guidance concerning two salient questions. First, how do we effectively address the economic development challenges stemming from the interactions between alternate rural and urban regions within Asia? Second, how do we ensure that the policies we design to address these challenges give rise to broad-based economic growth and development that is sustainable?

Amitrajeet A. Batabyal is Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, USA. He conducts research in regional economics, natural resource and environmental economics, and international trade theory. He has published over 700 journal articles, books, book chapters, and book reviews in these and other areas in the social sciences.

Yoshiro Higano is Emeritus Professor in the University of Tsukuba in Tsukuba Science City, Japan. He has and continues to conduct research on a variety of topics in regional science and he presently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science.

Peter Nijkamp is affiliated with Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iasi, Romania, A. Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland, and Open University in Heerlen, The Netherlands. He conducts research in regional science, transportation, and urban economics. In a long career, he has published over 70 books and 800 journal articles. He is a recipient of the Spinoza Prize in the Netherlands.