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sstrudeau · 2010-07-12 · Original thread
This reminds me of one of my unexpected favorite reads: Jane Jacob's "Cities & the Wealth of Nations" http://www.amazon.com/Cities-Wealth-Nations-Jane-Jacobs/dp/0...

She argues that cities (more specifically, city-regions) are the most fundamental economic unit, and many of the problems that national economies encounter are a result of an imbalance created by tying together multiple city-region economies; and tying them together (and together with large rural areas) creates political problems (because their interests do not align). She also points to cities like Singapore & Hong Kong to show how separating a city-region politically and economically from other city-regions, and decoupling large, rural areas allows for optimal economic conditions for cities. She's not a trained economist, but as a city resident, her argument resonated pretty strongly with me -- though, as a practical matter, well, not at all practical.

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