Excerpt:
The name ‘charter cities,’ Paul explains, comes from the historical example of the colony of Pennsylvania, which was founded under a charter drafted by William Penn. That charter enshrined new freedoms of religion– freedoms that were quite attractive to prospective immigrants. “It’s a nice illustration,” says Paul, “of how a new system of rules… could come into existence not through a vote or a consensus seeking process, but instead by creating a new entity and saying, ‘Who wants to opt in? Who wants to buy into these new rules?'”

Click here to read the full article by Lawrence MacDonald and to listen to the Wonkcast with Paul Romer.