Leaders | The world economy

The magic of diasporas

Immigrant networks are a rare bright spark in the world economy. Rich countries should welcome them

Nov 19th 2011

THIS is not a good time to be foreign. Anti-immigrant parties are gaining ground in Europe. Britain has been fretting this week over lapses in its border controls (see article). In America Barack Obama has failed to deliver the immigration reform he promised (see article), and Republican presidential candidates would rather electrify the border fence with Mexico than educate the children of illegal aliens. America educates foreign scientists in its universities and then expels them, a policy the mayor of New York calls “national suicide”.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “The magic of diasporas”