When somebody discovers something like the quadratic formula or the Pythagorean theorem, the convention in science is that he can't control that idea. He has to give it away. He publishes it. What's rewarded in science is dissemination of ideas. — Paul Romer Copy Share Image
If we collectively set our minds to improving technology of a particular type we can do that, and it takes some collective action, some support for research, or some provision of patent protection, or a mixture of the two, and… — Paul Romer Copy Share Image
Charter Cities has been approached in many different ways, by many people acting as individuals or as representatives of organizations. — Paul Romer Copy Share Image
For a nation, the choices that determine whether income doubles in one generation or two dwarf all other economic policy concerns. — Paul Romer Copy Share Image
Unfortunately, we don't have a bankruptcy process. Suppose the state actually just gets to the point where it cannot meet all of its promises… — Paul Romer Copy Share Image
I'd rather live in a world where firms don't have these enormous incentives to spy on individuals. — Paul Romer Copy Share Image
When we speak of institutions, economists mean more than just organizations. We mean conventions, even rules, about how things are done. — Paul Romer Copy Share Image
Good law includes a commitment to transparency and an insistence that no person or entity with a conflict of interest should have influence on… — Paul Romer Copy Share Image
No one from Charter Cities, can have any financial interest in any project in Honduras; no one can accept consulting fees from the Honduran… — Paul Romer Copy Share Image
In the 1950s, Hong Kong was a place where millions of people could go, from the mainland, to start in jobs like sewing shirts,… — Paul Romer Copy Share Image
In the developing world, most people don't yet live in big well-run cities. Given the chance to move to one, hundreds of millions of… — Paul Romer Copy Share Image
Fracking is an amazing instance of discovery of many things that come together to make it much cheaper to extract oil and gas. In… — Paul Romer Copy Share Image
My number-one recommendation is to invest in people. Humans that are well trained are the inputs into this discovery process. And there's big opportunities… — Paul Romer Copy Share Image
After 1960, anyone who wanted to discuss almost any aspect of U.S. public policy - from how to make cars safer to whether to… — Paul Romer Copy Share Image
