Interview with Paul Romer |On Hong Kong, Charter Cities and Growth Theory
This is an interview I have done on behave of iMoney Magazine, and this is the English version of the published article.
This interviews also appears on Prof Paul Romer’s official website. If anyone would like to quote this interview, please attribute iMoney as the original publication.
Q: The idea of Charter Cities originated from Hong Kong and Shenzhen, am I right?
Romer: The two most interesting precedents for Charter Cities are Hong Kong and Shenzhen, so it does have some origins here. They each played important roles in fostering reform of the Chinese economy. But it is an approach that can be used in any country that wants to implement reforms, even a developed country like the United States. It turns out that this is a unique time in human history when it is possible to start many new cities because there is an enormous, unmet demand for city life.
Q: What are the essential elements of a Charter City?