Urban economics in the Global South: A study of The Economist

Abstract

Urban economic analysis receives little attention in the Global South. The COVID-19 pandemic and its highly urbanized impacts made urban economics more relevant, but how it was applied warrants investigation. One way to address this issue is to examine how African economies – the focus of much attention during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2021) – were discussed among economists. Did they pay attention to the urban economy in Africa? How well did they do so? Do the resulting proposed economic policies for recovery reflect urban economic realities in Africa? With no answers from any economist, this article draws on data comprising more than five hundred articles about COVID-19 published in The Economist and their content analysis. Three results must be emphasized. First, most economic analyses were national or regional, with limited attention to Africa’s urban economies. Second, where they considered the urban economy of Africa, The Economist’s articles, often steeped in mainstream urban economics, were quite misleading. Third, and finally, these results raise fundamental questions about The Economist’s proposed economic policies to drive (urban) economic recovery. This study suggests that some special features of mainstream urban economics limit its potential.

Keywords

• cities
• urban economics
• the economist
• the global south