Paper 2 · Elasticity of Demand and Supply
Development often draws people out of the countryside into the towns faster than housing and services can be built. The usual result is
Aa fall in the total population of both the towns and the countryside
Ban equal spread of income between town dwellers and rural households
Covercrowding, slums, congestion and pressure on urban services
Da shortage of labour in the towns and rising wages in farming
Explanation: Rural to urban migration adds people to a town faster than houses, water, sewerage, clinics and schools can be provided, so informal settlements spread and existing services are overstretched. Unemployment and crime in the towns usually rise with it.
Derived from ZIMSEC Economics 4050/2 Paper 2, June 2023, Q1