I see Enrico Moretti’s name more and more, he’s on track to join the glitterati celebrity intellectuals…  Here is is on the role of agglomeration in human capital The key to economic success? Geography – Global Public Square – CNN.com Blogs.

Historically, there have always been prosperous communities and struggling communities. But the difference was small until the 1980’s, and has been growing dramatically since then. In 1980, the salary of a college educated worker in Austin was lower than in Flint. Today it is 45 percent higher in Austin, and the gap keeps expanding with every passing year. The gap for workers with a high school degree is a staggering 70 percent by some estimates. It is not that workers in Austin have higher IQ than those in Flint, or work harder. The ecosystem that surrounds them is different. The mounting economic divide between American communities – arguably one of the most important developments in the history of the United States of the past half a century – is not an accident, but reflects a structural change in the American economy.

But what, I wonder, does this mean for a county like Burkina Faso?  Move to Ouagadougou?  Invest even more to become the regional hub even though there isn’t enough water or amenities to sustain the location as a truly desirable spot?  For all the critics of Ouaga 2000 and the new airport in Donsin, this is in fact exactly what it does… isn’t it the right strategy?