Backwash Effect
Updated 2026-08-01
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
A concept introduced by Gunnar Myrdal within cumulative causation theory. It describes the negative side of growth pole development: a booming region pulls labor, capital, entrepreneurship, and demand away from lagging regions, weakening their capacity to grow. Migration of skilled workers, capital outflows seeking higher returns, and loss of local markets compound one another, so disparities widen instead of narrowing. It stands opposite the spread effect, and the balance between the two decides whether a region converges or polarizes, which is why policy intervention is often needed.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Impact assessment: check whether a growth pole drains its own local surroundings or genuinely feeds them. - Policy design: use transfers and infrastructure to offset the draining tendency. - Early warning: watch for hollowing out before divergence becomes fully locked in and irreversible.
Anchor fast decisions
Capital and skilled labor move toward the highest return, which is in the already growing region. That outflow shrinks the tax base, local demand, and productive capacity of the periphery, which lowers returns there further and pushes more resources out. The loop is self-reinforcing, so without a countervailing flow such as transfers, connected infrastructure, or deliberate industrial placement, the initial advantage converts into a durable gap.
MINIMUM ACTION
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Source support: Explicit
- baike.baidu.comhttps://baike.baidu.com/item/回波效应/6319567verified
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