as the development expert owen barder has noted the figures suggest that the biggest causes of poverty are not lack of development in the country as a whole but political economic and social marginalisation of particular groups in countries that are otherwise doing quite well in some ways it is while cities have become increasingly plugged into the globalising economy life in many rural areas has often changed little these differences between urban and rural areas or between different provinces and regions reflect what are called spatial inequalities and they can be a significant contributor to overall inequality in many developing countries but there are also inequalities of opportunity notably access to healthcare education and jobs that are perhaps more important for example in some emerging economies enrolment in secondary education is much lower in rural areas than in urban especially for girls