Many developing countries today have experienced rapid urbanization at minimum levels of industrialization. This paper examines whether resource rents drive this urbanization without industrialization phenomenon. We combine several spatially granular global data sets and estimate how mineral price booms affect the local city population and industrial composition. We find that increases in the mineral prices of nearby mines lead to increases in city population and employment relocation away from agriculture and primarily into low-skilled services. The mechanism is consistent with an income effect, which creates jobs primarily in the urban non-tradable sector. SSA cities exhibit exceptionally strong responses to mining booms.
