Urbanization & Rural-Urban Migration: Theory and Policy

(Reflection Paper)

Another informative and comprehensive group presentation for today! It’s

such a privilege to hear today’s discussion about “Urbanization and Rural-Urban
Migration” and how did these factors affect a country’s economy as a whole. it
is a given fact that urbanization has brought a lot of changes in different
aspects of economic development and growth. However, as group 4 discussion
proceeds, the more I have learned that these changes have a direct relationship
and effect to the consumers behavior in purchasing a specific goods and
services that had an increase in price also which is directly associated in
price elasticity that is then has an interrelationship with the utility
assumptions that will help the consumers rank their choices depending on their
preferences.

As I have pondered about this topic, I have gained an additional

knowledge in understanding the broadness and complexity in highly develop areas
most especially in develop cities, as Ms. Manalili said, one of the example
area in the NCR Region. The changes in prices brought about by the inevitable
changes that any cities must undergo to, in order to have more opportunities
that it can ever offer to its residents and people that might be willing to
take in part of this changes for the betterment of their lives, along with this
is the higher cost of living that any consumer should pay attention with
because if they failed to do so, their budget will suffer so as the demand
curve because the supply and flow of money with regards to the report of group
3, do affect the demand and supply curve in which no money means lack of
purchasing power of the consumers to buy goods and services that might cause a
huge impact on the demand and supply rate connected to consumer equilibrium and
demand. Due to this high cost of living, that consumers may consider as a
threat to “how much will they spend on this and that?” or in short, how they’re
going to budget their money, will then results for the buyers to find an
alternative or substitute goods and services. Or in other term they will find
another complimentary product that will satisfy them. And in this scenario,
Marginal Utility will push through as it refers to the added satisfaction a
consumer gets from having one more unit of a good or service. The concept
of marginal utility is used by economists to determine how much of an item
consumer are willing to purchase. Thus, as what Ms. Rodriguez said marginal
utility is the benefit that any consumers will acquire for purchasing a
specific goods or services. I have also realized that having a decline in
Marginal utility equates to an inelastic demand and on the other hand lower
price will lead to a lot of consumptions that will eventually results in a more
elastic demand. Moreover, in marginal utility it fully understood that buyers
want more of their money. In this case, they will not settle for just a single
product that cost a huge amount of money. As much as possible they want the
most out of it. So, it means more products and services purchase, the better.

In general, it is indeed the flow of money, demand, and supply that will
define the condition of an economy. This also relate and indicate a more rapid
process of urbanization could help boost economic growth by increasing demand
among urban businesses and individual consumers for more varieties of goods and
services, which in turn could contribute to poverty reduction in rural areas.
Urbanization is not about a simple increase in the number of develop cities for
it to be consider as a developing city or town, instead it is all about its
completeness of change in terms of social security, industrial structure,
living environment, and employment for the people.