Pacific Standard May-June 2013 Cover

Geography of Isolation

May 16, 2013 • By • Leave a Comment
north-korea-lake

Some places are less connected across space than others. North Korea is an extreme example. Robert Guest, author of Borderless Economics, explains: Because North Korea shuts out people, it shuts out ideas. That's one big reason why it is a starving backwater. Its more open cousin, South Korea, which welcomes foreigners and sends hordes of students and businesspeople abroad each year, is 17 times richer. People connect places. Migration is how ideas move. Another cost of isolation: Two recent papers by Filipe Campante of Harvard's Kennedy School and Quoc-Anh Do of the Singapore Management ... Read More

Silicon Valley Decline

May 15, 2013 • By • Leave a Comment
uplit-palms

Without immigration, Silicon Valley is dying. Without immigration, a lot of cities are dying, including New York. Mesofacts aside, migration is ephemeral, particularly international migration. Here today, gone tomorrow. Entire regional economies depend on the influx of talent. There are exceptions to this rule. Case study Montreal: If Montreal’s tech industries aren’t getting their workers from neighboring regions, that leaves one option: education. It seems clear that Montreal’s higher education system is doing a good job of meeting this area of market demand by training workers for ... Read More

Things Aren’t Looking So Good for the Graduating Class of 2013

May 15, 2013 • By • Leave a Comment
sad-graduation

Stacey Kalivas should be celebrating her graduation from college later this week. Instead, the 22 year-old is getting ready to move back home with broken dreams and in debt. Kalivas is a member of the class of 2013, the fifth successive wave of students to enter into a stubbornly weak U.S. labor market—marked by high unemployment, a large number of part-time workers, and many who have given up the hunt for jobs. "It's kind of tough to be graduating and not having anything," said Kalivas. The finance major will graduate from Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island, on May 18. It has ... Read More

Suburban Chic

May 14, 2013 • By • Leave a Comment
lakewood-park

Ah, Rust Belt Chic Paris. It's authentic. Daring. On the edge, a place of experimentation. Welcome to the suburbs: “Things are changing,” said Majid El Jarroudi, a consultant of Moroccan origin, who grew up in the Paris banlieue of Montreuil. Mr. Jarroudi, 36, started his career operating a small restaurant. He founded an organization, Adive, to assist banlieue entrepreneurs after visiting the United States and marveling at how much easier it seemed for minorities to move ahead. Attitudes have shifted slowly in France, he said, but these days, “there is a growing recognition that ... Read More

Captive Labor Markets and Migration

May 13, 2013 • By • Leave a Comment
working-mother

I cultivated an interest in talent migration via human rights advocacy. How could I get American voters to support the ratification of United Nations conventions? I settled on matters of citizenship. Non-citizens didn't enjoy the same constitutional protections as citizens. In fact, I learned that where you are located determines the force of international treaties. Geography and sovereignty impact international human rights law. Places, not people, have rights. Not all migrants fall into legal spatial loopholes such as Guantanamo. Cosmopolities above the fray hop from global city to global ... Read More

Shrinking City Myths

May 12, 2013 • By • Leave a Comment
braddock

Pittsburgh is dying. Residents are fleeing the city. Via Chris Briem, immigrants will save the Rust Belt: "We've had neighborhoods decimated by population loss, and the only way we rebuild is by bringing new people here," said Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto, a mayoral candidate who includes attracting immigrants in his campaign platform. The efforts are most evident in the Rust Belt, a region historically strong in manufacturing that a century ago was a leading destination for immigrants. During the fresh immigration surge in recent decades, however, newcomers largely bypassed ... Read More

Restaurant Talent Migration

May 10, 2013 • By • Leave a Comment
notion-food

In the foodie universe, Pittsburgh was a culinary cul-de-sac. On the other hand, Cleveland has sported a vibrant restaurant scene for quite some time. Regardless, both cities suffered from a Rust Belt reputation. What could be worth eating in a dying backwater? A recent New York Times article to the rescue: Until recently, the American food revolution seemed to bypass this region, leaping from Chicago to Philadelphia without making stops in places like Toledo, Cleveland, Akron, and Pittsburgh. These cities of the Rust Belt, which edges around the Great Lakes from Buffalo to Detroit, are ... Read More

Where the Billionaires At?

May 9, 2013 • By • Leave a Comment
money-stack

The Economist just posted a chart—as they do every day in a relevantly-named "Daily chart" feature—comparing cities with the world's most millionaires. The axes organize between cities with the most millionaires per thousand people and what percentage of the country's millionaires live in that city. Tokyo has the most millionaires, but Frankfurt, by far, has the most millionaires-per-thousand with 218. But what about billionaires? [Insert that Facebook quote.] The Economist also lists the cities by number of billionaires, and New York City comes out on top. USA! USA! USA! Here are ... Read More

How Parental Leave Policy Contributes to the Growing Gap Between Rich and Poor

May 9, 2013 • By • Leave a Comment
maternity-leave

The United States is unusual among developed countries in guaranteeing exactly zero weeks of paid time-off from work upon the birth or adoption of a child. Japan offers 14 weeks of paid job-protected leave, the U.K. offers 18, Denmark 28, Norway 52, and Sweden offers 68 (yes, that’s over a year of paid time-off to take care of a new child). The U.S. does guarantee that new parents receive 12 weeks of non-paid leave, but only for parents who work in companies that employ 50 workers or more and who have worked there at least 12 months and accrued 1,250 hours or more in that time. These ... Read More

The Shoppers of Babel

May 9, 2013 • By • Leave a Comment
shoppers-babel

We live in a world of global brands but local tastes. Arabs tend to drink their tea slowly; Indians load theirs with spices and sugar. So Lipton ships a different optimized formula to each, under its standard yellow label. The Earth may seem united by loyalty to Coca-Cola, but Coke famously tailors sweetness to different regions. The world of consumption is still a Balkanized place. If you want to see these divergent proclivities in all their finely segmented glory, spend some time at the Dubai International Airport. The world’s third busiest air hub, Dubai boasts the most lucrative and ... Read More