Although Africa has experienced rapid urbanization in recent decades, we know little about the process of urbanization across the continent. The paper exploits a natural experiment, the abolition of South African pass laws, to explore how exogenous population shocks affect the spatial...

Overview -- The political demand: spatial equity without compromising productivity -- Diagnose to prescribe. Uncovering the truth about spatial disparities -- Policy package 1: levelling the playing field and investing in people -- Policy package 2: connectivity - making spillovers work for poor...