Charter Cities
His latest contribution has been in trying to replicate the success of charter cities and make it an engine of economic growth in developing countries. He promoted this idea in a TED talk in 2009. Romer has argued that with better rules and institutions, undeveloped nations can be set on a different and better trajectory for growth. In his model, a host country would turn responsibility for a charter city over to a more developed trustee nation, which would allow for new rules of governance to emerge. People could "vote with their feet" for or against these rules.
The government of Honduras has recently considered creating charter cities, though without the oversight of a third-party government. Romer served as chair of a "transparency committee" but resigned in September 2012 when the Honduran government agency responsible for the project signed agreements with international developers without involvement of the committee.
Read more about this topic: Paul Romer
Famous quotes containing the words charter and/or cities:
“When Britain first, at Heaven’s command,
Arose from out the azure main,
This was the charter of her land,
And guardian angels sung the strain:
Rule, Britannia! Britannia rules the waves!
Britons never shall be slaves.”
—James Thomson (1700–1748)
“The cities of the world are concentric, isomorphic, synchronic. Only one exists and you are always in the same one. It’s the effect of their permanent revolution, their intense circulation, their instantaneous magnetism.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)