Friday, September 11, 2009

Paul Romer's radical idea: Charter cities



How can a struggling country break out of poverty if it's trapped in a system of bad rules? Economist Paul Romer unveils a bold idea: "charter cities," city-scale administrative zones governed by a coalition of nations. (Could Guantánamo Bay become the next Hong Kong?)

Totally cool idea, which could be employed in Africa, for instance.

The Pentagon loses $2.3T, the next day, 9/11, the world change, and everyone forgets $2.3T that went missing

Sunday, September 06, 2009

Preparing for China's urban billion

By pursuing a more concentrated urbanization path guided by action to boost urban productivity, China's local and national policy leaders would minimize the pressures and maximize the economic benefits of urban expansion. A two-part report details the scale, pace, and global implications of urbanization at the sector and city levels.
Full report from McKinsey.

China’s consumption challenge


A panel of leading Chinese economists debates proposals to stoke private consumption in the world’s fastest-growing economy.

How China and the US will set the global climate agenda



The Brookings Institution’s Ken Lieberthal discusses the opportunities he sees for a China–US clean-energy partnership going into December’s climate change conference.