There’s a long-term economic argument for welcoming immigrants: they attract foreign investment, research suggests. Their estimates suggest that doubling the number of residents with ancestry from a particular country would increase the probability of foreign direct investment (FDI) from that country by 4%. The authors point to previous immigration policies that had a significant impact on FDI in the US, including the Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned Chinese immigration from 1882 to 1943 and stifled Chinese immigration until the 1960s. They say those immigrants, had they been allowed in, could have spurred foreign investment in 69% of Massachusetts counties rather than the 43% that received investment from abroad. How immigration boosts foreign investment ran in the Fall 2016 issue.

Source: Mint February 19, 2017 17:56 UTC