Why do large cities tend to attract more migrants than smaller towns? Discuss in the light of conditions…

Question

Why do large cities tend to attract more migrants than smaller towns? Discuss in the light of conditions in developing countries.

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

Large cities attract more migrants because agglomeration economies, a large informal sector, concentrated investment, better services and kin networks raise the expected gain from moving, while small towns lack jobs and governance. A 2021 World Bank study found doubling city size raises Indian productivity by about 12%.

**Introduction**

In developing countries migrants head mainly for a few large cities. India's million-plus cities held about 42% of urban residents in Census 2011, mirroring the primate-city pull of Lagos, Dhaka and Manila.

**Economic Pull of Large Cities**

1. **Agglomeration economies**: A World Bank study (2021) found that doubling city size raises productivity by about 12% in India, so wages and job variety rise with size.
2. **Expected income**: The Harris-Todaro model (1970) explains why migrants come despite unemployment: they weigh the chance of a higher wage, and the informal sector gives a foothold.
3. **Concentrated investment**: Michael Lipton's "urban bias" thesis shows states steer infrastructure and industry to big cities, as Dhaka's garment factories drawing rural women show.

**Social and Infrastructural Pull, and Why Small Towns Lag**

SKETCH: comparison | Big City vs Small Town Pull
a: Large city
b: Small town
- Diverse, informal jobs :: Few, seasonal jobs
- Higher expected wage :: Low wage
- Hospitals, colleges :: Basic services
- Dense kin networks :: Thin networks
- Anonymity :: Caste visibility

1. **Services and mobility**: Specialist hospitals, universities and coaching hubs draw families who move for their children's future, not only for work.
2. **Networks and anonymity**: Kin chains such as Odisha's Ganjam to Surat's textile mills cut the risk of moving, and Ambedkar saw the village as "a sink of localism", making the city an escape from caste.
3. **Weak small towns**: Census towns rose to 3,894 in 2011, yet many lack an urban local body, roads and non-farm jobs to hold migrants.

**Conclusion**

Large cities attract migrants because opportunity, services and networks concentrate there, even at the cost of slums such as Dharavi. Strengthening secondary towns through infrastructure, industrial corridors and municipal governance can spread this pull and balance urbanisation.

Why do large cities tend to attract more migrants than smaller towns? Discuss in the light of conditions in developing countries.

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