Urban bias revisited

In his book ‘Why Poor People Stay Poor'the author has argued that urban bias is the moving force behind needlessly slow and inequitable growth in contemporary developing countries. This claim is defended against three main criticisms: that the methods chosen to test it are not appropriate; that the evidence tendered is not relevant or sufficient; and that the rural‐urban polarity is not clear‐cut or does not represent the prime conflict within contemporary developing countries.