Wednesday, October 11, 2006

The Future of Migration - Part Two

Part 2 of YaleGlobal Online two-part series on the future of migration, economist Lant Pritchett argues that the forces building up to another wave of mass migration face opposition in the form of ideas:

'Simply put, he says, "the primary reason there is not more migration is that the citizens of the industrialized world don't want it." People in the industrialized world - the main destination for migrants - often believe that their own poor would suffer if cheaper foreign labor were allowed in. Another idea they hold is that trade in goods is sufficient to create a convergence of incomes worldwide. Yet, Pritchett notes, there is no evidence that this is the case. In addition, he writes, the notion that sending enough aid to poor countries could obviate the need for increasing immigration is also unsubstantiated. The democratic rich countries' approach, which consists of promoting equality within their own nations while disregarding the suffering of people in poor countries, is another point of resistance to immigration.'

Read full here

No comments: