Urbani izziv Volume 34, No. 1, June 2023
: 107-118
(Articles)
UDK: 711.4:330.34(292.6)
doi: 10.5379/urbani-izziv-en-2023-34-01-04
Author
Franklin Obeng-Odoom
University of Helsinki, Faculty of Social Sciences, Global Development Studies, Helsinki, Finland
franklin.obeng-odoom@helsinki.fi
Title
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.
Key Words
cities, urban economics, The Economist, the Global South