Pollution and the Efficiency of Urban Growth

Martin Quaas and Sjak Smulders

No 44225, Sustainability Indicators and Environmental Valuation Working Papers from Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM)

Abstract: We analyze the efficiency of urbanization patterns in a dynamic model of endogenous urban growth with two sectors of production. Production exhibits increasing returns to scale on aggregate. Urban environmental pollution, as a force that discourages agglomeration, is caused by domestic production. We show that cities are too large and too few in number in equilibrium, compared to the efficient urbanization path, if economic growth implies increasing aggregate emissions. If, on the other hand, production becomes cleaner over time (`quality growth') the urbanization path approximates the efficient outcome after finite time.

Keywords: Environmental Economics and Policy; Community/Rural/Urban Development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 31
Date: 2008-09
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Pollution and the Efficiency of Urban Growth (2008)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:feemsi:44225

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.44225

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