Astral Codex Ten

Paul Romer

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Paul Romer

Article

Paul Romer is a recurring person in the Astral Codex Ten archive, appearing 2 times across 2 issues between April 14, 2021 and July 05, 2021. The archive places it in contexts such as “Nobel-winning economist Paul Romer proposed a new type of governance structure”; “Paul Romer’s original case for charter cities”. It most often appears alongside Central Park, Charter Cities Institute, Ciudad Morazán.

Metadata

  • Category: People
  • Mention count: 2
  • Issue count: 2
  • First seen: April 14, 2021
  • Last seen: July 05, 2021

Appears In

Source Context

Recovered passages from the original issue text. When the raw archive preserved outbound links inside the source passage, they are listed directly under the quote.

Prospectus On Próspera
April 14, 2021 · Original source
In 2009, Nobel-winning economist Paul Romer proposed a new type of governance structure. Underdeveloped countries looking for an economic boost could donate territory to some entity considered non-corrupt and skilled at governance - for example, a successful country like Switzerland. The recipient entity would govern the territory as effectively as it could, bringing improved human rights and economic growth.
Lobo's party controlled Congress and got a charter city law passed. After this the story gets kind of murky. Paul Romer's version was that they appointed him head of a Transparency Committee to make sure that whatever happened was in the best interests of Honduras, then started negotiating with a company called MKG Group without telling him. Upset at the opacity, and also at the negotiations themselves (he preferred having a foreign country administer the zones, not a private corporation), he resigned in protest. Honduras' version is that Romer was never appointed head of anything and there was no Transparency Committee.
Inline links: gets kind of murky
Model City Monday
July 05, 2021 · Original source
Paul Romer’s original case for charter cities included the fact that cities are the smallest unit which can have sustained economic growth. Will Ciudad Morazán with 10,000 residents be a better place to live than San Pedro Sula? Probably! Will it generate widespread economic development for Honduras? Probably not.