The intuition behind the cost effectiveness of charter cities is that economic growth compounds, improving standards of living. Therefore, over a sufficiently long time horizon, any growth change will dwarf a level change, like those attributable to deworming or anti-malaria efforts.
I think this framing is misleading. A “growth change” just is repeated (increasing) level changes. The figure on p.14 says that constant 6.5% growth over 50 years will increase GDP per capita to $90k. This is an accounting identity—there’s no new information in “6.5% growth over 50 years” that’s not in “GDP per capita increased from $4k to $90k over 50 years”.
I’d prefer to have the discussion purely in levels, with much more detail on what specifically is increasing GDP. For example: “GDP will increase by $X million over the first five years, driven by increases of $A, $B, $C in sectors 1, 2, 3; there will be N1 new firms and N2 new residents...” If you can assume a growth rate, you can fill in these details. Also, I think the assumption of a constant growth rate over fifty years is too strong.
A 35 percent marginal contribution by CCI to the success of a charter city project is also a conservative estimate. CCI is uniquely positioned to bring together government officials, developers, and other interested parties and offer the expertise to plan a charter city and implement a new legal system.
I’d like to see a lot more discussion of what CCI’s contribution is. This sounds like a political slogan.
I think this framing is misleading. A “growth change” just is repeated (increasing) level changes. The figure on p.14 says that constant 6.5% growth over 50 years will increase GDP per capita to $90k. This is an accounting identity—there’s no new information in “6.5% growth over 50 years” that’s not in “GDP per capita increased from $4k to $90k over 50 years”.
I’d prefer to have the discussion purely in levels, with much more detail on what specifically is increasing GDP. For example: “GDP will increase by $X million over the first five years, driven by increases of $A, $B, $C in sectors 1, 2, 3; there will be N1 new firms and N2 new residents...” If you can assume a growth rate, you can fill in these details. Also, I think the assumption of a constant growth rate over fifty years is too strong.
I’d like to see a lot more discussion of what CCI’s contribution is. This sounds like a political slogan.