DYNAMIC ECONOMIES AND THE CRITIQUE OF URBAN BIAS

This essay investigates the theoretical foundations of the urban bias thesis and discusses new evidence on intersectoral resource flows. It is argued that the existence of dynamic economies makes a critical dif ference in the patterns of intersectoral resource flows at different s tages of development. An appraisal of the five volume study by the Wor ld Bank of the 'political economy of agricultural pricing policy' is m ade in this context. This is followed by our own case studies where it is found that the nature of dynamic economies in the non-agricultural sectors, and the efficiency of resource use within agriculture, by an d large neglected in the conventional urban bias literature, are the k ey elements in understanding the historical patterns of intersectoral resource flows.