When I was in Hong Kong in March, I had an interesting interview with Cloud Yip from iMoney magazine. Here’s the transcript: 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.

The New York Times has a good story out today on Upshot concerned with “missing black men.” (Here with background here.) The background article notes that the incarceration rate is a key contributor and observes that there are signs that the national incarceration rate is coming down. The data for NY State, which are dominated by NY City, show that the incarceration rate there has been been falling for more than a decade.

3/21/2014 On March 21, 2014 Richard Florida, Paul Romer, and Robert Sampson discussed the Challenge of the City. Topics covered include Sampson’s work on the role of neighborhood effects in the concentration of advantage and disadvantage in the same city. The discussants also covered the role that the reduction in violent crime plays in urban transformation. They also discussed the various approaches to the city taken by different disciplines in the social sciences and, specifically, about the notion of approaching the city through Pasteur’s Quadrant — the idea that the way for academics to deepen their fundamental understanding of cities is to engage with real urban problems.

6/17/14 The Marron Institute of Urban Management, in partnership with the Urbanization Project, recently hosted a discussion between Paul Romer and Edward Glaeser on the causes and consequences of rapid urbanization. Video below.

HOW TO HAVE LESS CRIME AND LESS PUNISHMENT October 9, 2014 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm Kaufan Management Center Cantor Boardroom (11th Floor) 44 W. 4th St. New York, NY 10012 Mark Kleiman and Paul Romer will discuss crime and punishment in the United States. The United States has about four times the homicide rate, and about six times the incarceration rate, of Canada or Western Europe. Both problems are concentrated in cities, and among the socially and economically disadvantaged.