Blogs

A Caribbean charter city idea?

Posted by CaribShout on November 9, 2009 at 10:59pm

Professor Romer offers "a truly global win-win solution" Was it a pre-modern power grab or a post-modern experiment in good governance? That question was posed by Newsweek in its reporting of Britain's decision to return direct rule to the Turks and Caicos Islands. The US magazine likened the colonial power grab to the Charter Cities idea proposed by economist Paul Romer of Stanford University. Under Professor Romer's idea, one or more rich nations can take a chunk of a struggling country and turn it, for a limited period, into a charter city - a place that provides security, economic opportunity, and improved quality of life. For some it may sound like a new colonialism but he believes that the proposal offers a truly global win-win solution. "These cities address global poverty by giving people the chance to escape from precarious and harmful subsistence agriculture or dangerous urban slums." Professor Romer cites the story of Hong Kong, which was administered by Britain before being returned to China. One of his case proposals is for, say Canada, to could take over local administration of a portion of Cuban territory straddling Guantanamo Bay - with the voluntary agreement of the US and Cuba. In an interview with BBC Caribbean, Professor Romer discussed Charter Cities with Bertram Niles and whether they could work in the Caribbean. He is due to visit Jamaica in late November to talk with the government in Kingston on other matters.
Views: 48

Community

Culture

Entertainment

Food

Health