Sociology
Environmental degradation, environmental sustainability, and overurbanization in the developing world: A quantitative, cross-national analysis
Document Type
Article
Abstract
This is the first quantitative, cross-national study that incorporates predictors designed to test hypotheses linking overurbanization to environmentally induced migration. The study is based on a sample of fifty-eight developing countries using lagged dependent variable panel regression. Our major findings are quite clear with respect to newer rural-push and urban-pull arguments that developing countries suffering from various forms of environmental degradation are prone to overurbanization. Deforestation exerts a positive and significant effect on overurbanization, whereas environmental sustainability exerts a negative and significant effect on overurbanization. In addition, our results support hypotheses derived from the political modernization perspective that civil society and democratic regimes help to reduce overurbanization, as well as hypotheses suggested by neo-Malthusian theory that high levels of population growth contribute to high levels of overurbanization. We also find support for dependency theory in that transnational economic linkages based on multinational corporations and international lending institutions foster increased overurbanization in the developing world.
Publication Title
Sociological Perspectives
Publication Date
1-2003
Volume
46
Issue
3
ISSN
0731-1214
DOI
10.1525/sop.2003.46.3.309
Keywords
climate change, carbon dioxide, environmental sociology
Repository Citation
Shandra, John M.; London, Bruce; and Williamson, John B., "Environmental degradation, environmental sustainability, and overurbanization in the developing world: A quantitative, cross-national analysis" (2003). Sociology. 79.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_sociology/79