Property rights, whether for real world things or for digital things, are the foundation of developed economies. Because if you don’t feel like your property is going to be safe and secure, why would you bother investing and trying to accumulate assets?

Above is a chart I found, in this great thought piece by Ryan Goldman, showing the direct relationship between “protection against risk of expropriation” and GDP per capita. The more protection, the higher the GDP.

This is, of course, fundamental to the way we live our lives offline. But it is also becoming increasingly important in the way we live our lives online. Because we now have digital assets that people actually care about owning and protecting. You know, like pictures of apes.

This market is only going to continue to grow and the above relationship between rights and economic development will certainly hold true. But I think the big question is whether there will be more distributed and equitable access to opportunities in this emerging world.

I hope that will be the case.

“The concentration of economic growth and prosperity in large metro areas defines the modern global economy, creating both opportunities and challenges in an era in which national political, economic, and societal trends are increasingly influenced by subnational dynamics.” -Brookings Institute

The Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institute has a new report out for 2018 called the Global Metro Monitor.

Here are some of the highlights (data is from 2014 to 2016):

- The 300 largest metro areas in the world accounted for 36% of employment growth and 67% of GDP growth.

- Metro areas in China and the Asia-Pacific region outperformed, whereas Latin American cities, and in particular the largest Brazilian cities, were weaker performers.

- The majority of large metro areas had growth rates that exceeded that of their respective regions. So again, cities are the driver.

And here is an interesting interactive chart (better to click through) that shows the % change in GDP per capita. 

Look at how much of an outlier San Jose is. Though, check out Dublin in the footnote. And if you look at the actual data table, it is all China, except for Dublin at the top.

For the rest of the charts, click here. And to download the full Global Metro Monitor report, click here.

Property rights, whether for real world things or for digital things, are the foundation of developed economies. Because if you don’t feel like your property is going to be safe and secure, why would you bother investing and trying to accumulate assets?

Above is a chart I found, in this great thought piece by Ryan Goldman, showing the direct relationship between “protection against risk of expropriation” and GDP per capita. The more protection, the higher the GDP.

This is, of course, fundamental to the way we live our lives offline. But it is also becoming increasingly important in the way we live our lives online. Because we now have digital assets that people actually care about owning and protecting. You know, like pictures of apes.

This market is only going to continue to grow and the above relationship between rights and economic development will certainly hold true. But I think the big question is whether there will be more distributed and equitable access to opportunities in this emerging world.

I hope that will be the case.

“The concentration of economic growth and prosperity in large metro areas defines the modern global economy, creating both opportunities and challenges in an era in which national political, economic, and societal trends are increasingly influenced by subnational dynamics.” -Brookings Institute

The Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institute has a new report out for 2018 called the Global Metro Monitor.

Here are some of the highlights (data is from 2014 to 2016):

- The 300 largest metro areas in the world accounted for 36% of employment growth and 67% of GDP growth.

- Metro areas in China and the Asia-Pacific region outperformed, whereas Latin American cities, and in particular the largest Brazilian cities, were weaker performers.

- The majority of large metro areas had growth rates that exceeded that of their respective regions. So again, cities are the driver.

And here is an interesting interactive chart (better to click through) that shows the % change in GDP per capita. 

Look at how much of an outlier San Jose is. Though, check out Dublin in the footnote. And if you look at the actual data table, it is all China, except for Dublin at the top.

For the rest of the charts, click here. And to download the full Global Metro Monitor report, click here.