Why do large cities tend to attract more migrants than smaller town... | UPSC Mains Model Answer

Why do large cities tend to attract more migrants than smaller towns? Discuss in the light of conditions in developing countries. (150 words)

Based on 53 evaluated answers to this question on CollectorBabu: here is what aspirants most often missed, the mistakes that cost marks, and a model answer.

What most aspirants missed

Agglomeration economies explained: clustering of industries and services gives large cities more and more specialised jobs than small towns.
Comparison with smaller towns on healthcare, education, banking and job diversity, rather than only listing city attractions.
Chain migration and network effects, with a concrete example such as Bihari migrants in Mumbai.
Urban bias in public investment and metro-centric development as a pull factor in developing countries.
Remittances and the role of cities as nodes of global investment and trade.

Common mistakes

Listing general rural-urban push factors without explaining why large cities specifically attract more than smaller towns.
Drifting into policy solutions or ending with suggestions to curb migration, which the question does not ask for.
Using unverified or irrelevant statistics, and generic examples without developing-country grounding.
Introducing ideas like population density as a cause, when migration creates density rather than the reverse.

What the better answers did

Explicit comparison between large cities and small towns across jobs, services and networks.
Concrete developing-country examples such as Dhaka's garment sector, Mumbai's finance and film industries, and Dharavi.
Clear, named concepts (agglomeration economies, chain migration, step migration) briefly explained.
Staying on the why of the question and keeping the conclusion tied to the argument.

Introduction

Open by stating that cities offer agglomeration economies and a depth of opportunity that small towns cannot match, rather than starting with population figures.

Conclusion

Close by linking agglomeration, services, networks and urban-biased investment to the pull of cities, without drifting into solutions.

Model answer

Large cities in developing countries draw migrants because they offer a depth of opportunity that small towns cannot match. Agglomeration economies, where firms, finance and services cluster, create diverse jobs and higher wage premiums that a district town with few industries cannot sustain.

Economic pull

Dhaka's garment sector and Mumbai's finance and film industries employ people across many skill levels, unlike towns dependent on one or two activities.
The urban informal sector absorbs migrants quickly, though often in insecure work and slums such as Dharavi.

Services and urban bias

Hospitals, universities and banks concentrate in metros, and public investment follows the same bias, widening the gap with smaller towns.

Networks and step migration

Chain migration: established communities, such as Bihari workers in Mumbai, lower the cost of settling in.
Step migration from village to town to city is common as migrants climb the ladder of opportunity.

Global linkages and remittances

Cities are nodes of foreign investment and exports, while migrants remit earnings home, reinforcing the cycle.

In sum, cities pull migrants because agglomeration, services, networks and urban-biased investment combine, while small towns offer limited scale. Since roughly a third of urban dwellers in developing countries live in slums (UN-Habitat), this pull often meets weak planning.

Write this answer and get it evaluated

Handwritten answers, expert-reviewed, back in under 24 hours. Start with the ₹49 Trial.

Evaluate my answer