Aditya's Lame Attack on Charter Cities

Paul Romer's stature and reputation among professional economists is very solid. He is responsible for creating new ways for thinking about growth and this theory is called the New Growth Theory. More recently, he established a site in which he is discusses and updates his views on the new idea of charter cities. The idea is that high quality life and economic growth could be fostered in places by allowing new rules to be apply within sections of countries. His main example is the growth of Hong Kong by virtue of a different set of rules being applicable in it that were separate from those on the mainland. 

After the privilege of a meeting with Paul Romer in California, Aditya Chakrabotty dismisses the idea completely. To my mind, i think that the idea of charter cities leading to more Hong Kongs can be questioned legitimately, Aditya seems to have a different problem with the professor. To start with, he betrays his bias by sneering at the fact that Romer lives on a ranch overlooking the estate and further that Romer dismisses the concerns that assertions of sovereignty in many developing countries are often empty posturing. To tell the truth, there's no valid reason except for an ideological one for the harsh treatment of the professor's ideas. What a wasted trip!