Cities of Commerce was written by Oscar Gelderblom. It focuses on the institutional trade in the low countries during the medieval period and early modern Europe. The book explores the Political and legal fragmentation of sovereigns that allowed cities to adopt a Free market economy. Due to this, Leadership in…

“Each successful multiple-occupancy income property in real estate, beside comprising a community, is a growing island of profitable proprietary administration, a point of health in the world social fabric.” — Spencer MacCallum We hope you enjoy this month’s Governance Gauge: for more reading material, you can always visit our reading…

“When we think about the future, we hope for a future of progress. That progress can take one of two forms. Horizontal or extensive progress means copying things that work — going from 1 to n. Horizontal progress is easy to imagine because we already know what it looks like…

“The need for more technologically advanced industrialization in developed regions led to the creation of science, research and technology- oriented industrial parks and innovation areas. Managed by professionals able to promote the culture of innovation and stimulate and oversee the flow of knowledge and technology among universities, R&D institutions, companies…

“For it is the potential function of property in land, when rightly understood as the contractual distribution of a community’s sites and resources and of access to its public advantages, not only to distribute these things peaceably and impartially to the most productive occupiers and users but also to provide…

“The economic primacy of major cities is rarely matched by their formal governing powers. Governance matters for competitiveness because proactive government, public, and civic groups can marshal investment from a wide variety of domestic and international sources to enable new growth strategies.” — Jesus Leal Trujillo and Joseph Parilla We…

“For SEZs to be truly beneficial, they must solve political problems rather than economic ones. Thus, rather than seeking the optimal fiscal benefits, governments should focus on the rules and institutional setups of SEZs.” — Lotta Moberg We hope you enjoy this month’s Governance Gauge: for more reading material, you…

“Increasingly it will be more apparent to people that we should separate nonterritorial systems from territorial systems of goods. With technological progress, people are going to demand greater latitude to form nonterritorial systems across geographies based on individual interests and beliefs. Of course, the devil is in the implementation. But…

“Founding new communities will take patience, ambition, and a strong ethical character. This guide is a set of tools to complement the vision and leadership ability of founders who are exploring the next iteration of governance. Never before have entrepreneurs been in such a prime position to induce positive social…