Creating a new image for Dhaka City

From its humble beginning as a small, backwater town during the Mughal era, Dhaka has transformed into a growing megacity and the capital of Bangladesh. As the center of all economic, political and social activities of Bangladesh, Dhaka has attracted people from all corners of Bangladesh, and there is no sign of that rate abating. Even with all the talk of decentralization of Dhaka, it still remains the principal generator of economic activity of Bangladesh. At present, Dhaka does not have a good image – people identify it as a polluted, traffic congested city with low quality of life amenities. The city needs a new brand image that will not only redefine the city, but will eventually make it an important city for the rest of the world. A better image of Dhaka can also attract more foreign investment, and tourists from abroad.

Dhaka has a unique distinction of having a large number of public and private universities that attract the best and brightest students from all over the country. By happenstance, a number of universities have clustered in certain parts of the city. This gives the universities a unique opportunity to collaborate with each other and create an environment of innovation and entrepreneurship. For example, Dhaka University, BUET, DMCH, Eden College, Dhaka College and Home Economics College are all in the same neighborhood, with a few other universities just a few miles away. Another such cluster of private universities and medical colleges are situated in the neighborhoods of Dhanmondi and Gulshan respectively. These universities can collaborate and create an innovation zone, where students and faculty members from different disciplines can work together to come up with different ideas that can solve different national problems.

The government can also encourage firms to collaborate with these universities to research and develop new products and ideas. BSCIR, the scientific institution run by the government, could have an oversight over all these institutions, and could connect the projects in these innovation zones with venture capitalists or firms. These zones should have all the facilities needed to run multiple interdisciplinary research projects. Students in those zones should be encouraged to try bold new ideas to solve different national issues, come up with new product ideas, or create a new startup. These ideas could be supported by angel investors, or adopted by the established conglomerates of Bangladesh. Seminars and workshops could be offered at these centers to train students about the business world. Such creative endeavors can lead to creation of new entrepreneurs, inventors and leaders for Bangladesh.

There are some examples of partnership between universities and the private sector to promote innovation. A number of universities in the US have collaborated with government and business enterprises to create regions to attract innovative firms and research centers. The innovation zones of Dhaka can be modelled after the MIT Media Lab, the Stanford Research Park, or the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. These research parks have become important centers of research and innovation in the US, and have contributed immensely to the development of technology. They have also generated a lot of wealth in the regions where they are located. The innovation zones of Dhaka can be interdisciplinary in nature, so students of different fields can work together to create new technology and startups.

How can this lead to a re-branding of Dhaka city? There are a few reasons behind this. A large proportion of Bangladesh is young, and the government and development partners can do only so much to develop the country. The Bangladeshi youth need to be trained to be innovative and entrepreneurial so that they can create new ideas that can solve the national problems. In recent years, Bangladeshi youth have been increasingly attracted towards a business administration or a computer science degree, because of the belief that these degrees will land them a stable career path post-graduation. Students are less inclined to study in hard sciences, engineering, social sciences and humanities. These disciplines are also important in creating new ideas and technology that can help Bangladesh develop further. If students are provided an outlet where they can use different disciplines to create new products and services, then they will be encouraged to study different disciplines, which in turn can help Dhaka become an innovative city.

If innovative zones are created, students can apply their knowledge to create new technology, get a startup going or gain valuable experience that can make them marketable job candidates. These zones can make Dhaka a center of innovation and enterprise. New enterprises can spring up that can provide employment opportunities to the some of the millions of Bangladeshis that enter the workforce every year. Dhaka can move from being the labeled as one of the most unlivable cities in the world to a city that promotes innovation and entrepreneurship, a city that can eventually be called an ‘innovation city.’ A re-branding of Dhaka will help to improve the image of Bangladesh, bring in a lot of investment from abroad, encourage local businesses to take part in innovation, and encourage more students to undertake research. All these could have a multiplier effect and lead to a higher rate of economic growth for Bangladesh.

Culture and Development

Economists have long looked at the different factors affecting economic growth. Papers have looked at the importance of factors, such as labor, education and capital on growth and prosperity. Research has also looked into the importance of past and present institutions on growth. There is even some research on the impact of religion on growth.

There is still little research on the role of culture and norms on economic growth. Different cultures can instill different kinds of values in a person, and so, on the aggregate, they can have macroeconomic consequences. For example,

(i) societies that do not allow women to undertake economic activities because of orthodox cultural norms may not enjoy the desired rate of growth; even though the laws may treat men and women equally;

(ii) societies whose norm is for children to take care of the elders may not see much accumulation of retirement savings by the current working age population (in stocks/bonds and other assets), and that could affect asset accumulation and production in a country;

(iii) cultures that look down upon a certain caste, ethnic group or occupation (such as domestic help) may reduce the growth potential of the stigmatized group, and even if the laws mandate equality of all, cultural norms may prevent people from following the laws.

More research should be done to examine the link between culture and growth. Culture seems to be a slow-moving variable, and so, the impact of past culture could affect present growth, even if physical factors that affect economic growth are present in the country.

Chaotic Development in Developing Nations

I am visiting Bangladesh after 10 years. It is evident that there has been substantial development in different spheres of life. New buildings have sprouted all over the country, the roads are clogged with cars and casual observation shows that people are not deprived of food. Roads that used to be silent by 8 pm are teaming with business activities even in secondary and tertiary cities and towns. People are earning more, and consumerism is taking a strong foothold in the country. 

All these do lead to development. However, as one peels the layers away, the development model seems chaotic. Yes there are laws and policy framework in place to assist industrialization and human development, but development is not happening in an orderly fashion. Factories, residential units, offices and stores all are in the same location, and sometimes, even in the same building (indicating a lack of zoning). Factories and houses are also being built on prime agricultural lands. Pollution reduces the quality of life of urban dwellers. The healthcare system is inadequate to provide affordable and quality healthcare to the masses. The question is, when will such chaotic development eventually make way to orderly development, where the overall quality of life is enhanced?

While it is true to some extent that every country faced some degree of chaotic development (think the socio-economic consequences of the Industrial Revolution), one can only hope that developing countries eventually will find the way to create orderliness out of the current chaos. Rising incomes is important, but along with that, one should also hope to enjoy improvements in all spheres of human development.

Education in the US

Education has been described as the key to raising living standards. A person with more human capital will tend to have more income. Many factors can affect the level of education attainment. The facilities in schools, peer effects and the education level of parents can all have a significant effect on schooling of a child.  A large number of papers have looked at the links between education attainment and income. There is also a link between education from one generation to the next. The paper of Becker and Tomes (1986) shows the intergenerational link of education and income, and a number of papers, like Solon (1992) shows that the intergenerational correlation of income between fathers and sons is pretty high in the US.

Education quality is very important. In the US, houses in better school districts tend to have higher prices. Parents want better education for their children, and they are willing to pay a premium to live in neighborhoods that have better school districts. This can increase land values, and can reduce the capability of poor families to live in those neighborhoods. Furthermore, a large portion of school district budget comes from property taxes, and so, a richer neighborhood will have more expenditure on its school districts because of higher tax collection.

How important are different factors? Local neighborhood effects, and school quality can be very important. Even the quality of one's elementary school teacher has been shown to have a large effect on the future earnings of a person. With increasing attention given to rising inequality in the US, many economists have been interested to see how childhood neighborhoods affect future income. Economist Raj Chetty has mapped the probability of a child moving up the income ladder given the home-county characteristics.

Most economists and policy-makers believe that schooling is important. Even early education like Head Start is important in determining future outcome of children. Yet people disagree on how to ensure proper education is delivered. Many want to follow Finland's example, a country that scores high on student achievement scores. However, given the population size of the US, it is very difficult to provide uniform, high quality education to all students. The US has been trying to promote charter schools, a school run by individuals with considerable independence in setting school curriculum, but they can receive funding from government. Despite the independence, they have not been more successful than public schools on average.

Its still an open discussion how to make education quality better for all. Many have resorted to advocating online education as key to improving education quality. There is some success in different kinds of online pedagogy, but generalizing it without proper study may not be a good idea. So, this debate on how to improve school quality will continue for a long time,

Urban Economics: Transportation, Transit and Externalities

After the establishment of the interstate system in the US, individuals have become more inclined to live in the suburbs, and drive to work everyday. While a number of people carpool or use some kind of public transport, most people prefer to drive alone. There has been a rise of extreme commuting - which is defined as spending 90 minutes or more one way to reach one's work. According to this paper, an extreme commuter is a person likely to be married, older males who earn a higher salary. There are also some cases of super extreme commuting too.

There are many reasons why a person would like to live in the suburbs but work in the urban core. Suburbs provide some desirable amenities, and as more people prefer the suburbs, it creates more congestion in the urban core during specific times of the day. When a person drives alone to work, they are only considering a the private cost, and do not look into the social cost, or externality of their behavior. More cars lead to more congestion, pollution, accidents and wasted time.

Arthur Pigou said that in the presence of an externality, a tax or subsidy can be imposed to correct it. In the case of congestion, cities have been thinking about placing tolls on cars who enter downtown. Economists have been advocating for congestion tax to reduce congestion and improve the environment. For example, London tried it, but there hasn't been any improvements in congestion. Money collected from such tax can be used to improve public transportation system so that more individuals are encouraged to use it.

How can such a tax work? One flat fee for the whole day may not be efficient. A city could raise taxes in peak hours and reduce the taxes in off-peak hours. This can help to even out traffic throughout the day. This has been shown by a study done for the Government of Seattle.

Whenever there is traffic congestion, the two big questions that arise are: (1) should we build more roads? or (2) should we improve the public transport system? A big factor that influences these decisions is whether people will actually use public transportation if built. Wealthier cities may not want public transportation system. So, if a public transportation system is built and few people use it, then it will be a waste of resources and may run into losses every year. Although most public transportation system earns losses per trip, it is a good idea to subsidize them and keep them running because they help to mitigate the traffic and environmental degradation of a city.

The more car-centric a city is, the more concentrated poverty can become. Usually, places with high poverty rates are not the places where job opportunities are high. Without a good network of public transportation, the poor cannot afford to travel to work. They may not be able to live close to work because of higher cost of living in those areas. Improving public transportation system can make it easier for the poor to find work. On top of that, a person with an arrest record may not obtain a drivers licence, and this can hamper their ability to work.

News Article: A Tale of 3 Downtowns

A reporter from The Burlington Times newspaper, based in Burlington, NC, called me and asked about urban revival. Some of my comments have been used in the editorial that came out in Burlington Times. My article has been reproduced below, and my comments have been italicized.


A TALE OF THREE DOWNTOWNS

Since the beginning of 2016, three of Alamance County’s largest communities have made strategic moves to elevate the profiles of their downtowns.

Each is at a crossroads of sorts, moving forward with plans for their respective town and city centers, buoyed by an improving economy that sank with the Great Recession.

IN JANUARY, the town of Elon hired Kathleen Patterson as its first downtown administrator. She will help implement a 77-page master plan the Board of Aldermen adopted in 2014.The plan said there was a consensus that the concept of a “downtown Elon” does not exist in the consciousness of town residents.

Downtown Elon’s biggest challenge now could be termed a double-edged sword: It has a 100 percent occupancy rate.

While that might look good on paper, it also means that there is no space for new residents and businesses.

“Downtown Elon is 100 percent full from a commercial and residential standpoint,” Patterson said. “Our biggest challenge right now is the need for more commercial space to offer entrepreneurs who want to have a business and housing choices for those who want to live in downtown.”

She said that while the majority of downtown Elon is residential, it’s not dense residential, which poses another challenge.

“We have a large number of single-family homes that are rented to students,” Patterson said. “Our hope is to work with landowners to create denser residential options, along with mixed-use options to provide additional commercial space. with more options for living, eating, shopping and working.”

And then there’s another type of space that downtown needs: parking.

“Elon is no different than any downtown when it comes to parking — there is not enough,” Patterson said. “ We have worked with our downtown business and property owners on the parking hours to ensure that there is adequate time for customers to shop and dine, while balancing the need for turnover of the spaces. The town is exploring others ways to increase parking in the downtown.”

IN FEBRUARY, the town of Gibsonville received a report from Rose & Associates that audited the potential and pitfalls of its downtown.

The biggest concern, it seems, for the Board of Aldermen, particularly Mayor Lenny Williams, is luring a grocery store downtown, something that the town has not had since 2008, when Lowe’s Foods left its Burke Street location.

In January, the town drafted a new incentives policy, ostensibly to draw new business and industry of almost any type to the town, but obviously meant to lure a grocery store. The board approved the plan after the owner of the former grocery store space asked for incentives that could be used as a bargaining tool in getting a grocery store downtown.

But the report from Rose & Associates, a Davidson consulting firm, put a bit of a damper on that plan. According to the audit, the town would have to substantially increase its population base to attract a grocery chain. Most chains are searching for locations that will attract enough shoppers within an eight-minute drive of the location, said Kathleen Rose, the firm’s president.

The current market likely wouldn’t support a grocery store in downtown because the total population needed to support one is within at least a 10-minute drive.

According to a 2014 survey, residents used words like “friendly, “hometown” and “farmers markets” to describe Gibsonville. The town has a regular farmer’s market downtown in the growing season.

To that end, the report recommends that downtown Gibsonville take full advantage of its small-town character and transform the downtown into haven for specialty shops and artists.

Neil Bromilow, the chairman of the town’s Downtown Promotions Committee, said the town has been working on revitalizing its downtown since 2005 and rejuvenated its efforts in 2014.

“Alamance County is now picking back up where we were before the 2008 recession,” he said. “We are uniquely located in the last frontier between Winston-Salem and Greensboro to the west, and Raleigh and Durham to the east, so land is still available, and access is easy to other markets.”

One thing that the town decided not to do was rebrand itself. It’s always been known as the “City of Roses.”

“We did not rebrand ourselves after conducting several community surveys, but decided to emphasize our brand as the ‘City of Roses,’ which is that quaint, little town next door,” he said.
Bromilow also emphasized the walkability of downtown. which is a key factor is attracting people downtown, said Tonmoy Islam, an assistant professor of economics at Elon University.

“The more walkable a downtown is, the more people would be willing to walk around and enjoy the area,” he said. “A downtown that is very dependent on cars may not be able to attract people from all income segments. Downtown should have small shops that cater to all income groups, and also plazas and parks and other public places where people can congregate and feel part of the greater whole. The area can also have farmers markets, outdoor art shows, and could even have concerts in summer to attract people to visit that area.”

The farmers market and summer concerts are things that downtown Gibsonville has going for it, Bromilow said.

“Now that more people see the benefit of living within walking distance of community services, restaurants, shops, personal care, churches, social gathering spaces and community activities, such as the farmers market, free concerts and free movies, the concept of converting empty mills and vacant ground to market-rate housing is not as farfetched an idea that it once was,” he said.

IN FEBRUARY, the Burlington Downtown Corp. launched what is perhaps its most ambitious effort to revitalize downtown in recent years with a new branding campaign. Its slogan: Downtown Burlington: Get In.

Anne Morris, president of the corporation, said the rebranding has been well-received, with the corporation getting inquiries from businesses looking to open downtown. Morris declined to describe or identify the businesses.

She said her organization is pursuing a co-working space for downtown, where people rent desks and offices by the day or month. Right now, there are two co-working spaces in Alamance County, one in Saxapahaw and one in Graham.

The owners of May Hosiery Mill are trying to get it on the National Register of Historic Places, so the space on South Main Street would be eligible for historic tax credits, making the building more attractive to developers. One of the owners told the Times-News last year that he envisioned a mixed-use space of businesses and residences.

East Front Street is seeing a resurgence that really took off with the opening of the city’s co-op grocery store, Company Shops Market. Four new businesses recently moved into spaces on the 100 block of the street, and three apartments are being completed on the block.

Burlington Beerworks, which will be a craft brewery, pub and restaurant, is expected to open later this year at East Front and Main streets.

Islam, the Elon assistant professor, points to some of the old warehouses in downtown that could be converted into open space, with tables, benches and artwork.

“There can be provisions for small shops that sell a wide variety of food, coffee and antiques, for example,” he said. “Some areas can be rented out to offices. Open spaces could be used to hold concerts, farmers market, or even art competitions. However, the main aim should be to encourage local businesses to set up in that area, instead of trying to attract shops and businesses from out of state.”

Advertising Burlington as a destination should be done carefully, Islam said.

“A statewide campaign to attract people to downtown Burlington may be a good way to attract day tourists,” he said. “However, the city should not advertise nationally in the beginning. After Burlington has some degree of name recognition in the state, the city may start advertising about downtown Burlington in the neighboring states. However, that should be done gradually.”

COOPERATION IS A KEY to a successful downtown, the experts say.

“To succeed you have to have the commitment to change and grow from all of the stakeholders: elected officials, residents, staff business, landowners, developers and higher education,” Patterson said. “Downtown revitalization is a journey with many opportunities to fail and many opportunities to succeed. Having the commitment to get up when you fall down and continue forward is vital to success.”

John Barnhart, president of Destination Downtown Mebane, agrees. During the past decade, the downtown has gone through a rejuvenation. It’s so popular, he said, that when a storefront becomes vacant, “three or four” businesses are in line to rent it.

Mebane rebranded itself in 2014 with the slogan, “Mebane: Positively Charming.”

Most recently, Mebane scored what the other three downtowns want: a place for people to live. Tenants have begun moving into the 156-unit The Lofts at White Furniture, the former furniture company that has been converted.

Barnhart credits the city’s working with downtown stakeholders to make downtown a place where people want to go.

The latest example, he said, is the 32-acre park that is being built on West Clay Street near downtown.

“There is more than just Tanger Outlets and Wal-Mart here,” he said. “That is one of the hurdles we had to overcome. You have to distinguish yourself from the malls and whatnot.”

Islam cites Greensboro, Durham and Asheville as cities that have done a good job revitalizing their downtowns.

“Durham was able to convert a number of empty and vacant lots into spaces that are attracting people and businesses,” he said. “Greensboro has a very vibrant downtown, and so does Asheville.”

Islam added that Alamance County downtowns can co-exist with Tanger Outlets, two major shopping centers that attract people from all over the region.

“Alamance Crossing and Tanger Outlets cater mainly to shoppers,” he said. “These areas are not very walkable. I wouldn’t call them public spaces. They also don’t have a local feel because they are mainly housing big stores.

“If an Alamance County downtown has a local feel, with local restaurants, coffee shops and other local shops with public spaces and walking areas, I think it can successfully compete with those big shopping centers.”

Urban Economics: Land Use and Rent

Rent of urban land is dependent upon different amenities, like access to roads. A piece of land that is ideally locally near downtown, or near a subway station will have a higher rent than a similar sized land that is away from downtown or a subway station. David Ricardo came up with the idea that agricultural land rent is dependent upon its fertility. Similarly, we can interpolate that the more ideal a land's location is, the higher will be its rent.

The rent price per acre is the total revenue, less the various capital, transportation and production cost, divided by the area of the land in acres. Thus, if one of the costs of production is higher, it will cause land rent to decrease.

When land is plentiful, there is no need to build a skyscraper because cost of building a skyscraper exceeds the rental savings from using large amount of land to build low rise buildings.

Spatial Distribution of Jobs

How jobs are distributed in a city can affect the density of buildings in an urban area, and vice versa. In some cities, like Boston and Portland, there is one city center where there is most jobs. So most commute is from the suburbs to the city center. With the rise of rent in city centers, many offices find it too expensive to stay in downtown. Some firms may migrate to outside the city boundaries, or to suburbs. This can increase the density of employment in some suburban areas - leading to the creation of edge cities. These edge cities are typically near the highway and have different manufacturing and services industries serving the main city. For example, Los Angeles, Chicago, and to some extent, New York have a number of edge cities surrounding them. In some cases, like Los Angeles, there is a fall of mono-centric city, mainly due to the rise in urban sprawl and the move of factories from city centers to places where land and labor is cheap.

Some factors that led to the rise in urban sprawl are:

1. the low price of negative externalities like congestion
2. mortgage subsidies
3. low prices of different amenities outside of cities
4. different zoning regulations

As land is plentiful in the US when compared to other countries, cities in the US are less dense than cities around the world.

Spatial Distribution of People in Cities

Because land prices are high in certain parts of the city compared to others based on amenities, one sees the rise of segregation based on race and income. For example, Du Bois noted in Philadelphia that the 7th Ward is where most of the African Americans lived in the early 1900s, and the living conditions were squalid. Right outside the 7th ward, the wealthier African Americans lived, and most of them were born in Philadelphia. Because of discrimination, an African American in early 1900s was not able to get good employment, no matter how qualified he/she is. Du Bois also mentions that African Americans faced problems in social interactions with the general population, educating their children and finding good place to live because of discrimination.

Although overt discrimination is unlawful now in the US, years of segregation and social exclusion have made some areas in cities and its inhabitants unable to rise up the economic ladder. The more segregated a city is, the more social and economic problems it can have. As economists, we are interested to measure the level of segregation in a city. One simple measure of fractionalization is 1 minus the sum of squares of the fraction of individuals in different ethnic/linguistic group.

There are other measures of segregation, like the 'index of dissimilarity' by Cutler and Glaeser (1997). Using this measure of dissimilarity, Cutler and Glaeser (1997) show that African Americans living in segregated communities are worse off than those not living in segregated communities. However, they do not find a similar effect on whites.