早稲田社学 2012 III

Disparities in incomes and living standards are the outcome of a striking attribute of economic development ― its unevenness across space. Somewhat unfairly, prosperity does not come to every place at the same time. This is true at all geographic scales, from local to national to global. Cities quickly pull ahead of the countryside. Living standards improve in some provinces while others lag behind. And some countries grow to riches while others remain poor. If economic density were charted on a map of the world, the topography at any resolution would be bumpy, not smooth.

Location remains important at all stages of development, -but it matters less for living standards in a rich country than in a poor one. Estimates from more than 100 living standard surveys indicate that households in the most prosperous areas of developing countries ― such as Brazil, Bulgaria, Ghana, Indonesia, Morocco, and Sri Lanka ― have an average consumption almost 75 percent higher than that of similar households in the lagging areas of these countries. Compare this with less than 25 percent for such developed countries as Canada, Japan, and the United States.

In contrast, as a country grows richer, location becomes more important for economic production. Ghana, Poland, and New Zealand ― three medium-size countries with land areas of about 250,000 square kilometers ― have vastly different per capita gross national incomes of about $600, $9,000, and $27,000, respectively. The most economically dense 5 percent of the country's area produces about 27 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in Ghana, 31 percent in Poland, and 39 percent in New Zealand.

Put another way, as countries develop, location matters less for families and more for firms. Development seems to give a place the ability to reap the economic advantages of rising concentrations of production, and to obtain the social benefits that result when rich and poor people can consume almost equally. Economic development thus brings with it the conditions of even greater prosperity, in a beneficial circle of cause and effect between production and consumption.

Another visible fact: neighborhoods matter. A prosperous city seldom leaves its surrounding areas stuck in poverty. A province's prosperity is sooner or later shared with those nearby. And neighboring countries share not just political borders but economic destinies. North America, Western Europe, and East Asia are now prosperous neighborhoods. Within these regions, all countries did not grow at the same rate. Within countries, some provinces did better, and within each province, prosperity came at different times to cities, towns, and villages.

Less widely appreciated is the fact that places near prosperous provinces, countries, and regions have invariably benefited. Prosperity produces congestion and causes economic activity to spill over, but only to places that are well connected to these prosperous parts. The detrimental effects of poverty, instability, and conflict spill over as well. To prosperous places, proximity is a blessing, to poor places, a curse.

These three attributes of development have not always received much attention. They should, because they have radical implications for public policy.


解答 1. (1)g  (2)b  (3)e  2. c  3. b