Jk Galbraith And Immigration Essay
Few subjects expose the gulf between economists and many ordinary people better than immigration. Writing in 1979, JK Galbraith summed up the view of many economists on the subject of the movement of peoples across national borders: “Migration is the oldest action against poverty. It selects those who most want help. It is good for the country to which they go. It helps break the equilibrium of poverty in the country from which they come.”
Net migration (immigration minus emigration) to the UK hit a record high of 336,000 in the year to June, according to the Office for National Statistics. This has prompted not Galbraithian celebration, but a dismal round of lamentation and recrimination. Yet the economic case for immigration is as robust …show more content…
These funds enable households to spend more on health and education for their children, driving domestic development and curbing poverty. And for rich countries there is decent evidence that immigration boosts productivity, the magic ingredient that drives overall economic growth.
Some high-profile examples demonstrate how that process works. Graphene was isolated at Manchester University by Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov, two immigrants from Russia. There are high hopes that this special industrial material will create a host of entirely new markets, boosting our national income in the process. The history of California’s Silicon Valley is testament to the powerful role of the entrepreneurial immigrant. Sergey Brin, one of the founders of Google, was Russian-born. Steve Jobs, the irascible but brilliant founder of Apple, was the son of Syrian migrant.
Not all contributions need be so stunning for immigration to drive growth. By filling skills gaps in the workforce and starting businesses, immigrants tend to improve national economic efficiency. The history of ethnic Chinese migrants to neighbouring South-east Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines vividly shows this beneficial effect. Many of these expat Chinese communities run thriving import-export
Net migration (immigration minus emigration) to the UK hit a record high of 336,000 in the year to June, according to the Office for National Statistics. This has prompted not Galbraithian celebration, but a dismal round of lamentation and recrimination. Yet the economic case for immigration is as robust …show more content…
These funds enable households to spend more on health and education for their children, driving domestic development and curbing poverty. And for rich countries there is decent evidence that immigration boosts productivity, the magic ingredient that drives overall economic growth.
Some high-profile examples demonstrate how that process works. Graphene was isolated at Manchester University by Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov, two immigrants from Russia. There are high hopes that this special industrial material will create a host of entirely new markets, boosting our national income in the process. The history of California’s Silicon Valley is testament to the powerful role of the entrepreneurial immigrant. Sergey Brin, one of the founders of Google, was Russian-born. Steve Jobs, the irascible but brilliant founder of Apple, was the son of Syrian migrant.
Not all contributions need be so stunning for immigration to drive growth. By filling skills gaps in the workforce and starting businesses, immigrants tend to improve national economic efficiency. The history of ethnic Chinese migrants to neighbouring South-east Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines vividly shows this beneficial effect. Many of these expat Chinese communities run thriving import-export