Does Urbanization Drive Southeast Asia's Development?

For those of us who live in the United States or in the advanced nations of Europe or Asia, urbanization has gone hand in hand with greater economic development, and the growth of the middle class. But elsewhere that once-positive connection between urbanization and rising living standards seems to be breaking down over the past decade or so. The world may be entering into a troubling new phase of urbanization without growth, where urbanization no longer goes hand in hand with great economic output, rising living standards, or a large middle class.

Southeast Asia—the region of the world that spans Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam—is going through rapid urbanization today. By 2030, its urban population will grow by another 100 million people, rising from 280 million people today to 373 million people.