> people living in rural areas should know that they are simple
Countermeasures to this stereotype can be equally damaging. It may have played into Foxconn’s advantage here.
“We don’t need an expensive coastal banker telling us what to do” is reasonable if everyone is out to screw small timers.
> a region with a dying economy might actually be rational to throw away an enormous amount of money
This wasn’t money they had. It was taxpayers’ future money. Money that could have financed education or infrastructure or a move to another city. This mindset is only rational if staying in place has infinite utility, not only for the region’s present residents, but its future ones too.
Countermeasures to this stereotype can be equally damaging. It may have played into Foxconn’s advantage here.
“We don’t need an expensive coastal banker telling us what to do” is reasonable if everyone is out to screw small timers.
> a region with a dying economy might actually be rational to throw away an enormous amount of money
This wasn’t money they had. It was taxpayers’ future money. Money that could have financed education or infrastructure or a move to another city. This mindset is only rational if staying in place has infinite utility, not only for the region’s present residents, but its future ones too.