IMMIGRATION

The WorldView radio show that aired tonight featured a very interesting panel discussion on immigration. In particular, the immigration of science and computer professionals, both as students and as workers. Why can't America fill its own needs in these areas? Is it a sign of weakness? You will be able to listen to the program at the WorldView archives at www.globalcincinnati.org.

The show reminded me of an interview with Philippe Legrain I recently read on the Freakanomics blog. Some parts that I found interesting (emphasis added):

A Rand study of recent immigrants to the U.S. finds that the typical immigrant ends up $20,000 per year better off. And it’s not just the migrants themselves who gain — it’s their countries of origin, too. Already, migrants born in poor countries and working in rich ones send home much more — some $200 billion a year officially, perhaps another $400 billion informally — than the miserly $100 billion that Western governments give in aid. These remittances are not wasted on weapons or siphoned off into Swiss bank accounts; they go straight into the pockets of local people. They pay for food, clean water, and medicines. They enable children to stay in school, fund small businesses, and benefit the local economy. What’s more, when migrants return home, they bring with them new skills, new ideas, and the money to start new businesses that can provide a huge boost to the local economy. For example, Africa’s first Internet cafés were started by migrants returning from Europe.

Some immigrants bring exceptional skills that American companies need if they are to compete in a global marketplace. Also, immigrants’ collective diversity and dynamism helps spur innovation and economic growth, because if people who think differently bounce ideas off each other, they can solve problems better and faster. Just look at Silicon Valley: Intel, Yahoo, Google, eBay, and others were all co-founded by immigrants who arrived in the U.S. not as highly-skilled graduates, but as children.

Who knew?
You can read the rest of the interview at:
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/the-case-for-open-immigration-a-qa-with-philippe-legrain/#more-1915