Abstract: Urbanization matters for the MDGs in at least a couple of ways: (i) the benefits of agglomeration, as cities have the potential to generate higher living standards for all their residents (not just migrants), and (ii) the benefits of scale economies, as basic public services can be expected to be provided at lower unit cost in urban areas. Urban environments not only have the advantage of providing economies of scale for the delivery of services, such as water, sanitation, and education, but their density of economic activities allows for faster economic development relative to rural areas. As rural dwellers migrate to cities in search of a better livelihood, the shift in population distribution can be expected to spur progress towards the achievement of the MDGs related to the delivery of services. But urban areas do not provide guarantees. Migrants can find themselves in urban slums where expected improvements in overall service delivery necessary to achieve the MDGs do not ensue. The important point here is that rural-urban dynamics and the possibility of urban areas to improve living conditions have implications for progress toward the MDGs. With 2015 just around the corner, 2012 has marked the start of discussions on a post-2015 development framework and a second generation of MDGs. This webinar, based on the Global Monitoring Report 2013 will address some of the key issues needed to inform the discussion of the post-2015 development agenda.

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