Artículos

Urban primacy and slum prevalence in Latin American and Caribbean countries in the 1990-2020 period

Moisés Obaco
Universidad Católica del Norte, FACEA, Chile
Juan Pablo Díaz-Sánchez
Escuela Politécnica Nacional,, Ecuador
Cintya Lanchimba
Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Chile

Urban primacy and slum prevalence in Latin American and Caribbean countries in the 1990-2020 period

Investigaciones Regionales - Journal of Regional Research, vol. 63, pp. 61-81, 2025

Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional

Recepción: 02 Julio 2023

Aprobación: 24 Enero 2024

Abstract: Slums are a global concern due to their impact on urban health and urban planning. Although Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the most urbanized developing regions, slums are still a significant concern. However, most studies have concentrated on a single city, using a sample of Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries or treating the region as one unit to analyze income inequality and urban primacy. Here, we present an analysis of the relationship between slums and urban primacy for LAC countries for the 1990–2020 period, controlling for GDP per capita and public spending on housing. In addition, we model the relationship between slums and demographic variables such as the fertility rate, migration rate, and urbanization. The analysis is based on panel data from the World Bank and The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). During the period of study, a clear positive relationship is evident between urban primacy in the largest city and the slum rate in each LAC country. However, a high level of heterogeneity is observed in this relationship and our model explains the variation in the slum rate within countries better than the variation between countries.

Keywords: Slums, panel data, Latin America, urban primacy, urbanization.

Resumen: Los barrios marginales son una preocupación mundial por su impacto en la salud y la planificación urbana. Aunque América Latina y el Caribe (ALC) es una de las regiones en desarrollo más urbanizadas, los barrios marginales siguen siendo una preocupación importante. La mayoría de los estudios se han concentrado en una sola ciudad, a nivel mundial utilizando una muestra de países de ALC o tratando la región como una unidad. Aquí presentamos un análisis de la relación entre los barrios marginales y la primacía urbana en los países de ALC para el período 1990-2020, controlando el PIB per cápita y el gasto público en vivienda. Nos preguntamos sobre la relación entre los barrios marginales y la primacía urbana, después de controlar la heterogeneidad no observada de los países de ALC. Además, modelamos la relación entre los barrios marginales y variables demográficas como la tasa de fertilidad, la tasa de migración y la urbanización. El análisis se basa en datos de panel del Banco Mundial y la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL). Durante el período de estudio, es evidente una relación clara entre la primacía urbana en la ciudad más grande y la tasa de barrios marginales en cada país de ALC. Sin embargo, se observa un alto nivel de heterogeneidad en esta relación y nuestro modelo explica mejor la variación en la tasa de barrios marginales dentro de los países que la variación entre países.

Palabras clave: Tugurios, Datos de Panel, Latinoamérica, concentración urbana, urbanización.

[Para la comprensión de este artículo es necesario consultar la versión en PDF por la inclusión de símbolos matemáticos en la explicación que no son reproducibles aquí.]

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JEL Classification : R0; R12

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redalyc-journal-id: 289

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