Economics puts huge focus on material development, less so on health, culture or well-being. Your example is actually quite illustrating. When you do not have l

Economics puts huge focus on material development, less so on health, culture or well-being. Your example is actually quite illustrating. When you do not have local politicians trying their best to keep their region relevant and populated, only those people who cannot leave for better opportunities remain. Within a city this means having ghettos, within a country it means having deep divisions. Globally it means you have a rich centre and a poor periphery. This might maximize productivity in a capitalist society, its certainly does not maximize happiness, and it exacerbates other problems like urban decay, crime, divisive politics and much more.