Special Economic Zones, Political Economy, Public Choice, Incentives, China, Free Cities, Próspera, Bitcoin, Cannabis Policy, Decentralisation. - “There were probably a lot of brown envelopes on the table involved.” - Timothy Allen speaks with economist Lotta Moberg about what special economic zones really are once you look past the branding: the incentives that shape policy, why some zones work while many turn into political theatre, and why governments often keep backing weak results. They also discuss China’s more improvised zone origin story, a concrete cannabis policy case study, and what the next generation of zone ideas like free cities and Prospera gets right or wrong about credibility, legitimacy, and exit. Enjoy the conversation. - Links Mentioned in the Show: New ArkPad Seasteading Resort in Próspera: https://tinyurl.com/ArkPad EP 111 with Alex Martynov: https://fountain.fm/episode/WTlkU4B2kkMr8qTuoYyF Email Alex Martynov: alex@alexmartynov.com - SHOW SPONSOR: Veritas Villages: https://www.veritasvillages.com/freecities Veritas Villages are building off-grid, energy self-sufficient communities for freedom lovers in Latin America. Bitcoin is accepted at all villages, including for the purchase of property. - Previous interviews with Patrick Hiebert, Founder of Veritas Villages: EP 156: https://fountain.fm/episode/66NqAclTBh7FByIX7lCq EP 107: https://fountain.fm/episode/Fh6uGwZvVtPsYsR53pTI - DONATE Bitcoin to the Free Cities Podcast: bc1q5jun0nzxzqepch84rqk0jnv0rd8uvns28df7mg - DONATE fiat currency to the Free Cities Podcast: https://buy.stripe.com/5kQ9AT90zeeY5JX7Jv4ow00 - Listen on Fountain.fm to subscribe for BONUS episodes & EARLY ACCESS: https://fountain.fm/show/xudG4tsYH5TimGLfAmqn All the Podcast Links: https://linktr.ee/FreeCitiesPodcast Free Cities Telegram Community: https://t.me/+im6c6r4jQkUzMjU0 Free Cities Conference: https://freecitiesconference.com/ Free Cities Foundation Newsletter: https://free-cities.org/subscribe - Podcasting apps that support Value-4-Value Bitcoin payments: https://podcastindex.org/apps?appTypes=app - TIMESTAMPS (Audio Version Only) 0:00:00 – Episode introduction 0:08:09 – Start of Conversation 0:09:30 – Reacting To The “Zones Of Progress” Narrative 0:12:11 – Political Economy And Public Choice Explained 0:15:09 – Have Politicians Ever Been Benevolent? 0:18:52 – Bias, Scholarship, And Why SEZs Are Not Obvious 0:20:35 – Are SEZs Really “Sandboxes” For Reform? 0:26:06 – China’s Zones Were Bottom-Up, Not A Master Plan 0:31:26 – Decentralization: Political Freedom Plus Fiscal Incentives 0:39:36 – Why Failing Zones Get Subsidized Even More 0:41:05 – Can Governments Create Free City Style Projects? 0:45:32 – Privately Developed Zones Beat Government-Run Zones 0:48:49 – Are ZEDEs “Cute” Or Life-Changing? Lotta’s Take 0:52:17 – Free C