Past Event

8th Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Research Conference

The 8th Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Research Conference will focus on the theme of urban expansion and the future spatial organization of cities.

Video Replays

Recordings of the plenary sessions on March 7, 2024 are available on YouTube: 

For additional details on the sessions, see the agenda tab.

About the Conference

The 8th Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Research Conference will bring together academics and development practitioners to present and discuss questions relating to urban expansion and the future of cities.

The theme is of increasing importance to academics and policy makers alike as the supply of ideas and demand for solutions to address the challenges of urban expansion are growing. Cities in some developing countries are growing at faster rates and at lower income levels than those in developed countries. If well-directed and well-managed, expansion and densification of urban areas can bring economic growth while also offering poverty reduction opportunities. If poorly directed and managed, the result can be congested, unsustainable, and unproductive environments. 

Planning for the cities of tomorrow is thus a crucial task, but one benefitting from a multi-disciplinary approach. This edition of the conference will draw from experts at the interface of policy and research to understand which new ideas, new methods, and new collaborations can bring about necessary changes.

The conference will feature a series of policy- and research-oriented events on March 7, 2024, followed by a more technical series of seminars and events (including a Young Urban Economist Workshop) on March 8, 2024. The conference is co-sponsored by the World Bank (Development Research Group and Urban, Disaster Risk, Resilience, and Land), George Washington University (Elliott School of International AffairsInstitute for International Economic Policy, and Center for International Business Education and Research), the International Growth Centre (Cities that Work and Cities Research Program), and Millennium Challenge Corporation.

Conference Organizers

Harris Selod (The World Bank)

Remi Jedwab (George Washington University)

Victoria Delbridge (International Growth Centre)

Oliver Harman (International Growth Centre)

Tanner Regan (George Washington University)

Mesbah Motamed (Millenium Challenge Corporation)

Roman David Zarate (The World Bank)
 

Inquiries

Contact Elaine Wylie at urbanizationconference@worldbank.org

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The organizers acknowledge the generous financial support received from the World Bank Knowledge for Change Program www.worldbank.org/kcp in support of the conference.

DATE: March 7-8, 2024

LOCATION: World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433

DAY 1 (March 7)  |  DAY 2 (March 8)  

Last updated: March 13, 2024
 

DAY 1 (March 7)

8:30 - 9:00am Registration and Coffee (MC Front Lobby)
9:00 - 9:15am

WELCOMING REMARKS (Preston Auditorium - ground floor)

WATCH RECORDING

Indermit Gill, Senior Vice President & Chief Economist, The World Bank

Deon Filmer, Director, Development Research Group, The World Bank

Jonathan Leape, Executive Director, International Growth Centre

9:15 - 10:35am

OPENING SESSION: Urban Expansion and the Future of Cities (Preston Auditorium - ground floor)

WATCH RECORDING

CHAIR AND MODERATOR
Bernice Van Bronkhorst, Global Director for Urban, Resilience and Land Global Practice, The World Bank

PANELISTS
Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone, and C-40 Co-Chair

Omar Masud, Chief Executive, Urban Unit, Pakistan and Cities that Work Council Member

Don Davis, Ragnar Nurkse Professor of Economics, Columbia University

Maisy Wong, James T. Riady Associate Professor of Real Estate, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

10:35 - 10:45am Mini Coffee Break (MC Front Lobby)
10:45am - 12:15pm

POLICY SESSION: Planning in African Cities (Preston Auditorium - ground floor)

WATCH RECORDING

CHAIR
Alyssa Ayres, Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University

POLICY ADDRESS
Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone, and C-40 Co-Chair

Charles Hinga, Principal Secretary, State Dept for Housing and Urban Development, Kenya

Mohammed Alhassan Damba, Immediate Past President of Ghana Institute of Planning, Ghana

RESPONDENTS
Shlomo Angel, Professor of City Planning at the Marron Institute, NYU

Edward Glaeser, Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics, Harvard University, and Co-Director of the Cities Research Programme, International Growth Centre

12:15 - 1:30pm Lunch Break (MC Front Lobby)
1:30 - 3:00pm

KEYNOTE ADDRESS AND DEBATE (Preston Auditorium - ground floor)

WATCH RECORDING

CHAIR
Mark Sundberg, Deputy Vice President and Chief Economist, Millennium Challenge Corporation

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: The Promises, Problems, and Policy Pitfalls of Urban Development
Gilles Duranton, Dean's Chair in Real Estate Professor, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

RESPONDENTS
Hugh Cole, Director of Strategy, City of Cape Town, South Africa

Elena Ianchovichina, Head of Frontier Knowledge, World Bank's Jobs Cross-cutting Solutions Group

Catalina Marulanda, Practice Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa Region, The World Bank

Omar Masud, Chief Executive, Urban Unit, Pakistan and Cities that Work Council Member

Ming Zhang, Practice Manager, East Asia and the Pacific Region, The World Bank

3:00 - 3:30pm Coffee Break (MC Front Lobby)
PARALLEL THEMATIC SESSIONS
Note: The following three sessions will run in parallel from 3:30 - 5:00pm

3:30 - 5:00pm

THEMATIC SESSION A: Urban Expansion (Preston Auditorium - ground floor)
Subtopics: Pace of expansion, horizontal and vertical growth, densification, land use conversion

CHAIR
Mesbah Motamed, Lead Economist, Millennium Challenge Corporation

ACADEMIC SPEAKERS
Mark Roberts, Lead Economist, The World Bank

Mathilde Lebrand, Senior Economist, Prospects Group, The World Bank

POLICY SPEAKER
Shlomo Angel, Professor of City Planning, Marron Institute, New York University

DISCUSSANT
Harris Selod, Senior Economist, The World Bank

3:30 - 5:00pm

THEMATIC SESSION B: Incremental Housing (MC 4-800, 4th floor, conference room 800, in the 800s section of the building)
Subtopics: Informal housing, slum upgrading, sites and services

CHAIR
Tanner Regan, Assistant Professor, George Washington University

ACADEMIC SPEAKERS
Guy Michaels, Associate Professor of Economics, LSE

Maisy Wong, James T. Riady Associate Professor of Real Estate, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

POLICY SPEAKER
Mohammed Alhassan Damba, Immediate Past President of Ghana Institute of Planning, Ghana

DISCUSSANT
Olivia d’Aoust, Senior Economist, Urban, Resilience, and Land, The World Bank

3:30 - 5:00pm

THEMATIC SESSION C: City Structures (MC 13-121, 13th floor, conference room 121, in the 100s section of the building)
Subtopics: Spatial organization of cities, formal and informal land markets, spatial mobility and productivity

CHAIR
Stephane Hallegate, Senior Climate Change Adviser, World Bank

ACADEMIC SPEAKERS
Stephen Redding, Harold T. Shapiro 1964 Professor in Economics, Princeton University

Nick Tsivanidis, Assistant Professor, UC Berkeley, and Co-Director of the Cities Research Programme, International Growth Centre 

POLICY SPEAKER
Hugh Cole, Director of Strategy, City of Cape Town, South Africa

DISCUSSANT
Arti Grover, Principal Economist and Regional Program Leader, IFC

5:30 - 7:30pm

Cocktail Reception

George Washington University, Elliot School of International Affairs, Lindner Commons Room (6th floor), 1957 E ST NW, Washington, DC (intersection of E and 19th Street, on E Street)

DAY 2 (March 8)

8:30 - 9:15am

Registration and Coffee

Latecomers registration at Visitor’s Center (on the side of the building) and coffee (rooms MC 2-800, MC C2-350 and MC 13-121)

PARALLEL RESEARCH SESSIONS 1
Note: The following three sessions will run in parallel from 9:15 - 11:15am

9:15 - 11:15am

RESEARCH SESSION 1A: Local Economic Development (MC 2-800, 2nd floor, conference room 800, in the 800s section of the building)

CHAIR
Jake Grover, Senior Advisor, Millennium Challenge Corporation

PAPERS
Paper 1A.1: Stephen Redding (Princeton), “Neighborhood Effects: Evidence from Wartime Destruction in London”

Paper 1A.2: Tillman Von Carnap (Center for Food Security and the Environment), “Rural Marketplaces and Local Development”

Paper 1A.3: Jevgenijs Steinbuks (The World Bank), “Infrastructure Complementarities and Local Economic Growth: Evidence from Electrification and Highway Construction in Brazil”

Paper 1A.4: Qingua Zhang (Guanghua School of Management), “Build up a Metropolis: Land Use Regulations. Spatial Misallocation, and Welfare

DISCUSSANT
Ayah Mahgoub, Senior Urban Development Specialist, The World Bank

9:15 - 11:15am

RESEARCH SESSION 1B: Segregation (MC C2-350, basement level C2, conference room 350, in the 300s section of the building)

CHAIR
Henry Telli, Senior Country Economist, Ghana, International Growth Centre

PAPERS
Paper 1B.1: Fernanda Rojas-Ampuero (University of Wisconsin), “Segregation and Health: The Consequences of Slum Clearance on Mortality”

Paper 1B.2: Magdalena Rossetti (London School of Economics), “Identifying the Spatial Patterns of Multidimensional Poverty: The Case of Chile”

Paper 1B.3: Shohei Nakamura (The World Bank), "Where is Poverty Concentrated? New Evidence based on Internationally Consistent Urban and Poverty Measurements"

Paper 1B.4: Tekalign Gutu Sakketa (German Institute of Development and Sustainability), “Urbanization and Social Cohesion: Theory and Empirical Evidence from Africa”

DISCUSSANT
Nicholas Li, Assistant Professor of Economics, George Washington University

9:15 - 11:15am

RESEARCH SESSION 1C: Transportation (MC 13-121, 13th floor, conference room 121, in the 100s section of the building)

CHAIR
Stephane Straub, Chief Economist for Infrastructure, The World Bank

PAPERS

Paper 1C.1: Alice Duhaut (The World Bank), “Public and Private Transit: Evidence from Lagos”

Paper 1C.2: Lucas Conwell (University College London), “Subways or Minibuses? Privatized Provision of Public Transit”

Paper 1C.3: Lea Bou Sleiman (NBER), “Displacing Congestion: Evidence from Paris”

Paper 1C.4: Shanjun Li (Cornell), “The Welfare Effects of Passenger Transportation Infrastructure: Evidence from China's High Speed Rail Network”

DISCUSSANT
Roman Zarate, Economist, The World Bank

11:15 - 11:30am Break
WORKSHOPS AND POLICY SESSIONS
Note: The following two workshops will run in parallel from 11:30am - 12:30pm

11:30am - 12:30pm

YOUNG URBAN ECONOMIST WORKSHOP - PART 1 (MC 2-800, 2nd floor, conference room 800, in the 800s section of the building)

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
Deon Filmer, Director, Development Research Group, the World Bank

CHAIR
Oliver Harman, Cities Economist, International Growth Centre

PAPERS
Paper YUE 1: Ronak Jain (Harvard University), “Entrepreneur of Emotions: Evidence from Street Vending in India”

Paper YUE 2: Stefan Leeffers (University College London), “It Will Rain: The Effect of Information on Flood Preparedness in Urban Mozambique”

11:30am - 12:30pm

USING QUANTITATIVE SPATIAL MODELS FOR POLICY WORKSHOP (MC 3-570, 3rd floor, conference room 570, in the 500s section of the building)

CHAIR
Juliana Oliveira-Cunha, Policy Economist, International Growth Centre

SPEAKERS
Steve Redding, Harold T. Shapiro 1964 Professor in Economics, Princeton University

Nick Tsivanidis, Assistant Professor in Real Estate, UC Berkeley, and Co-Director of the Cities Research Programme, International Growth Centre

Roman Zarate, Economist, The World Bank

RESPONDENT
Hugh Cole, Director of Strategy, City of Cape Town, South Africa

12:30 - 1:15pm Lunch Break (Rooms MC 2-800 and MC C2-350)
Note: The following workshop and policy session will run in parallel from 1:15 - 2:45pm
1:15 - 2:45pm

YOUNG URBAN ECONOMIST WORKSHOP - PART 2 (MC 2-800, 2nd floor, conference room 800, in the 800s section of the building)

CHAIR
Oliver Harman, Cities Economist, International Growth Centre

PAPERS
Paper YUE 3: Fabiola Alba-Vivar (Columbia University), “Opportunity Bound: Transport and Access to College in a Megacity”

Paper YUE 4: Olivia Bordeu (Chicago Booth), “Commuting Infrastructure in Fragmented Cities”

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: "Cities, Infrastructure, and Government Capacity"
Edward Glaeser, Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics, Harvard University, and Co-Director of the Cities Research Programme, International Growth Centre

1:15 - 2:45pm

POLICY SESSION: Connecting Policy, Projects, and Research (MC 13-121, 13th floor, conference room 121, in the 100s section of the building)

CHAIR
Mesbah Motamed, Lead Economist, Millennium Challenge Corporation

Jonathan Leape, Executive Director of the International Growth Centre

RESPONDENTS
Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone, and C-40 Co-Chair

Hugh Cole, Director of Strategy, City of Cape Town, South Africa

Mohammed Alhassan Damba, Immediate Past President of Ghana Institute of Planning, Ghana

Charles Hinga, Principal Secretary, State Dept for Housing and Urban Development, Kenya

James Maina, State Department of Housing and Urban Development, Kenya

Omar Masud, Chief Executive, Urban Unit, Pakistan and Cities that Work Council Member

2:45 - 3:00pm Coffee Break (Rooms MC 2-800, MC C2-350 and MC 13-121)
PARALLEL RESEARCH SESSIONS 2
Note: The following three sessions will run in parallel from 3:00 - 5:00pm

3:00 - 5:00pm

RESEARCH SESSION 2A: Crime and Conflict in Cities (MC 2-800, 2nd floor, conference room 800, in the 800s section of the building)

CHAIR
Camilla Sacchetto, Senior Country Economist, Jordan, International Growth Centre

PAPERS
Paper 2A.1: Carlos Schmitt-Padilla (Penn Development Research Initiative), “Gangs, Labor Mobility, and Development”

Paper 2A.2: Daniel Ramos Menchelli (Johns Hopkins SAIS), “Spatial Mobility, Economic Opportunity, and Crime”

Paper 2A.3: Joaquin Urrego (UC Berkeley), “The Evolution of Slums in Chile, 2000-2021” 

Paper 2A.4: Andre Gray (UC San Diego), “Diversity, Conflict, and Agglomeration in African Cities”

DISCUSSANT
Paul Carrillo, Professor, George Washington University

3:00 - 5:00pm

RESEARCH SESSION 2B: Housing (MC C2-350, basement level C2, conference room 350, in the 300s section of the building)

CHAIR
Hina Shaikh, Senior Country Economist, Pakistan, International Growth Centre

PAPERS
Paper 2B.1: Daniel Agness (UC Berkeley), “Housing and Human Capital: Condominiums in Ethiopia”

Paper 2B.2: Qiayo Zhou (University of Maryland), “Haste or Waste? The Role of Presale in Residential Housing”

Paper 2B.3: Vaidehi Tandel (University of Manchester), “Do Mandatory Disclosures Squeeze the Lemons? The Case of Housing Markets” 

Paper 2B.4: Kala Sridhar (Institute for Social and Economic Change), "Urban Form in India 1975-2015: Have India’s cities become flat?” 

DISCUSSANT
Leah Brooks, Professor, George Washington University

3:00 - 5:00pm

RESEARCH SESSION 2C: Urban Labor Markets (MC 13-121, 13th floor, conference room 121, in the 100s section of the building)

CHAIR
Louise Fox, Senior Non-Resident Fellow, Africa Growth Initiative, Brookings

PAPERS
Paper 2C.1: Eunjee Kwon (University of Cincinatti), “High-Speed Rail and the Gender Gap in Labor Market: Evidence from South Korea”

Paper 2C.2: Luc Christiansen (World Bank), “Do More Urban Migrants Lead to Better Urban Wages and Welfare? Insights from Uganda”

Paper 2C.3: Yao Wang (Ohio State University), “Evaluating the Relocation of Indonesia’s Capital: A Quantitative Spatial Model Approach”

Paper 2C.4: Victoria Xie (Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara), “Do Resource Rents Drive Urbanization and Structural Transformation? A Global Analysis”

DISCUSSANT
Elena Ianchovichina, Head of Frontier Knowledge, World Bank's Jobs Cross-cutting Solutions Group

About the Venue

The conference will be held at the World Bank's Headquarters, located at 1818 H Street, NW, Washington DC 20433, USA.

World Bank Main Entrance

Please do not use the visitor’s entrance on 18th street but the main entrance at 1818 H street near the intersection of H street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

Map of World Bank main entrance

Elliott School of International Affairs

The cocktail reception will take place on the first day of the conference (March 7) from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E Street at the intersection of E and 19th Streets (Lindner Common Rooms, 6th Floor) - GWU (George Washington University). The image below will show you how to get from the World Bank MC building to 1957 E Street.

Map of reception at GWU

Note that the call for papers associated with this conference is being coordinated by IGC. Please visit their website for the latest updates on the paper selection process.

This year the conference organizers are conducting an international call for papers to promote engagement with a diverse range of scholars across the world. We will explore how cities' development has consequences on productivity, liveability, sustainability, and inequality.

  • We are interested in building bridges between economic research and other social science fields such as urban planning, environmental sciences, and economic geography. Thus, we are accepting papers from various methodological standpoints, but primarily with a quantitative or mixed methods framework.
  • A non-exhaustive list includes land use simulation models, spatial economic models, RCTs, spatial econometrics, GIS mapping and analysis, gravity models, location theory, remote sensing, satellite data acquisition and analysis, longitudinal studies, spatial statistical analysis and Big Data analytics.
  • Focus on developing countries is highly desired, but not essential.

As part of the call for papers, certain young scholars will be chosen to partake in the Young Urban Economist Workshop and will receive feedback on their papers from Professor Ed Glaeser. These scholars and select developing country scholars will be eligible to receive funding for travel and accommodation. Application will happen automatically, so please submit as normal.

There are no associated conference fees and food will be provided.

Paper submission and queries: The call for papers closed on 27 November 2023. Please direct any queries regarding this call to
oliver.harman@bsg.ox.ac.uk.

Date: March 07 - 08, 2024 ET

Location: Washington, DC