What happens at the Fed, what Janet Yellen and the other people decide there, what happens in central banks in other parts of the world is very important. This can make the difference between a high unemployment rate, a slow recovery or a more rapid recovery. Paul Romer Read Quote
For an investment banker, the choice between a payment that doubles with every square on the chessboard and one that doubles with every other square is more important than any other part of the contract. Who cares whether the payment is in pennies, pounds, or pesos? Paul Romer Read Quote
For a nation, the choices that determine whether income doubles in one generation or two dwarf all other economic policy concerns. Paul Romer Read Quote
So human capital makes ideas, and ideas help make human capital. But still, they’re conceptually distinct. Paul Romer Read Quote
When we speak of institutions, economists mean more than just organizations. We mean conventions, even rules, about how things are done. Paul Romer Read Quote
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 Read Quote
A well-run city lets millions of people come together and enjoy the benefit they can get from working together and trading with each other. Paul Romer Read Quote
There are many signs of the value created by all the exchange that takes place in a city. We see it in productivity and wage data. We also see it in the increase in the value of the land. Paul Romer Read Quote
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 people would go there to get a job, get an education for their children, and live in a place that is clean, safe, and healthy. Paul Romer Read Quote
