Education, Electricity, Fertility, and Economic Growth with Charlie Robertson

Charter Cities Podcast

What do high education and low fertility rates have in common? According to today’s guest, Charlie Robertson, they are both positively correlated with economic growth. In today’s episode, Charlie shares the reasons why he believes that countries that don’t get their fertility rates down to below 3 children per woman and those that don’t have adult literacy rates above 70% are doomed to remain trapped in poverty. Join us for a round-the-world trip where Charlie delves into the history of South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the West, and offers his explanation for why some countries have flourished while others have floundered. Charlie is the Global Chief Economist at Renaissance Capital and the author of The Fastest Billion and The Time-Travelling Economist.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Understanding economic trends in Africa over the past few years.

• Factors that lead to the creation of urban slums.

• Charlie’s hypothesis on the link between fertility and economic growth.

• What Charlie sees as the optimal fertility rate.

• Basic adult literacy rates in Sub-Saharan African countries when they were decolonized.

• A statistic that highlights the progress that has been made on the education front globally.

• Why education is imperative for growth.

• The correlation between education and fertility.

• The importance of correctly sequencing educational priorities.

• An explanation of the economic success being experienced in the Philippines.

• Comparing the rate of economic growth in India and China.

• Reasons why Pakistan hasn’t kept up with India’s levels of economic growth.

• Explaining Sri Lanka’s downfall.

• Charlie’s thoughts on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

• The energy financing issues facing African countries.

• Challenges of using green energy as a baseload power source.

• Why Charlie believes governments should be focusing on providing electricity to factories rather than homes.

• Benefits of decentralized energy systems.

• The potential of municipal-level financing approaches.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Charlie Robertson on LinkedIn

Renaissance Capital

The Fastest Billion

The Time-Travelling Economist

Charter Cities Institute

Charter Cities Institute on Facebook

Charter Cities Institute on Twitter