On the Determinants of Slum Formation
构建了一个包含异质性居民和住房选择的城市模型，解释发展中国家约三分之一城市人口居住的贫民窟的形成原因。利用巴西1980-2000年数据，发现城市贫困、不平等和城乡迁移解释了贫民窟增长的大部分变化，并评估了政策干预的效果。
Abstract We construct a simple model of a city with heterogeneous agents and housing choice to explain the determinants of slums, home to about one-third of the urban population in developing countries. The model supports the main empirical evidence regarding slum formation and is able quantitatively to assess the role of each determinant of slum growth. We show that urban poverty, inequality and rural–urban migration explain much of the variation in slum growth in Brazil from 1980 to 2000. Ex ante evaluation of the impacts of policy interventions shows that removing barriers to formalisation has a strong impact on slum reduction.