Trying to end poverty through well-founded charter cities | Mark Lutter & Tamara Winter (2019)

Originally released March 2019. Dr Mark Lutter and Tamara Winter of the Center for Innovative Governance Research (CIGR) are reviving the idea of ‘charter cities,' with some modifications. Gone is the idea of transferring sovereignty. Instead these cities would look more like the ‘special economic zones’ that worked miracles for Taiwan and China among others. But rather than keep the rest of the country’s rules with a few pieces removed, they hope to start from scratch, opting in to the laws they want to keep, in order to leap forward to “best practices in commercial law.”

Starting afresh with a new city makes it possible to clear away thousands of harmful rules without having to fight each of the thousands of interest groups that will viciously defend their privileges. Initially the city can fund infrastructure and public services by gradually selling off its land, which appreciates as the city flourishes. And with 40 million people relocating to cities every year, there are plenty of prospective migrants.

CIGR is fleshing out how these arrangements would work, advocating for them, and developing supporting services that make it easier for any jurisdiction to implement. They’re currently in the process of influencing a new prospective satellite city in Zambia.

Of course, one can raise many criticisms of this idea: Is it likely to be taken up? Is CIGR really doing the right things to make it happen? Will it really reduce poverty if it is?

We discuss those questions, as well as:
• How did Mark get a new organisation off the ground, with fundraising and other staff?
• What made China's 'special economic zones' so successful?
• What are the biggest challenges in getting new cities off the ground?
• How did Mark find and hire Tamara? How did he know this was a good idea?
• Should people care about this idea if they aren't focussed on tackling poverty?
• Why aren't people already doing this?
• Why does Tamara support more people starting families?

Learn more and see the full transcript on the 80,000 Hours website: https://80000hours.org/podcast/episod...

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