Q1: Which of the following best explains the concept of “agglomeration economies" in the context of urban migration?
(a) Government subsidies to large industries
(b) Efficiency gains from geographic clustering of firms and workers
(c) Migration of skilled workers to foreign countries
(d) Rural electrification driving urban investment
Q2: ‘Primate city syndrome’ refers to which of the following?
(a) Cities with the highest literacy rates
(b) Dominance of one city over a country’s economic and demographic landscape
(c) Cities planned on a grid layout
(d) Cities with the most foreign direct investment
Q3: Which of the following is a ‘pull factor’ driving migration to large cities in developing countries?
(a) Agricultural mechanisation displacing farm labour
(b) Availability of diverse employment opportunities
(c) Declining soil fertility
(d) Caste-based social hierarchies in villages
Q4: The Todaro Migration Model suggests that rural-to-urban migration in developing countries is primarily driven by:
(a) Actual urban wages only
(b) Expected urban income, accounting for probability of employment
(c) Government relocation incentives
(d) Religious or cultural reasons
Q5: Which of the following statements about chain migration is correct?
(a) It occurs only in international migration
(b) Early migrants provide information and support to later migrants from the same area
(c) It refers to government-sponsored resettlement
(d) It reduces the size of migrant communities in cities
Answers with explnation
- Answer: (b)
Agglomeration economies refer to the cost and productivity advantages that arise when firms and workers cluster geographically. This concentration reduces transaction costs, enables knowledge spillovers, and deepens labour markets — making large cities progressively more attractive to both businesses and migrants.
- Answer: (b)
Primate city syndrome, a concept advanced by geographer Mark Jefferson, describes the dominance of a single city in a country’s urban hierarchy — typically at least twice the size of the next largest city. Bangkok (Thailand), Jakarta (Indonesia), and Dhaka (Bangladesh) are classic examples.
- Answer: (b)
Pull factors are attractive conditions in the destination. Options (a), (c), and (d) are push factors — conditions that drive people away from rural areas. Availability of diverse employment is a classic pull factor that draws migrants toward large cities.
- Answer: (b)
The Todaro Model (1969) argues that migration decisions are based not on actual wages but on the expected income, calculated as the probability of finding urban employment multiplied by the urban wage. This explains why migration continues even when urban unemployment is high.
- Answer: (b)
Chain migration occurs when established migrants from a community facilitate subsequent migration by providing information, accommodation, and job leads to others from the same village or region. This self-reinforcing process builds ethnic enclaves in large cities and reduces the cost and risk of migration.
