Thisisnotagoodtimetobeforeign.Anti-immigrantpartiesaregaininggroundinEurope.Britainhasbeenfrettingthisweekoverlapsesinitsbordercontrols.InAmericaBarackObamahasfailedtodelivertheimmigrationreformhepromised,andRepublicanpresidentialcandidateswouldratherelectrifytheborderfencewithMexicothaneducatethechildrenofillegalaliens.Americaeducatesforeignscientistsinitsuniversitiesandthenexpelsthem,apolicythemayorofNewYorkcalls“nationalsuicide”. Thisilliberalturninattitudestomigrationisnosurprise.Itistheresultofcyclicaleconomicgloomcombinedwithasecularriseinpressureonrichcountries’borders.Butgovernmentsnowweighingupwhetherornottotrytoslamthedoorshouldconsideranotherfactor:thegrowingeconomicimportanceofDiasporas,andthecontributiontheycanmaketoacountry’seconomicgrowth. Diasporanetworks-ofHuguenots,Scots,Jewsandmanyothers-havealwaysbeenapotenteconomicforce,butthecheapnessandeaseofmoderntravelhasmadethemlargerandmorenumerousthaneverbefore.Therearenow215mfirst-generationmigrantsaroundtheworld:that’s3％oftheworld’spopulation.Iftheywereanation,itwouldbealittlelargerthanBrazil.TherearemoreChinesepeoplelivingoutsideChinathanthereareFrenchpeopleinFrance.Some22mIndiansarescatteredallovertheglobe.Smallconcentrationsofethnicandlinguisticgroupshavealwaysbeenfoundinsurprisingplaces-LebaneseinWestAfrica,JapaneseinBrazilandWelshinPatagonia,forinstance-buttheyhavebeenjoinedbynewerones,suchaswestAfricansinsouthernChina. Thesenetworksofkinshipandlanguagemakeiteasiertodobusinessacrossborders.Theyspeedtheflowofinformation.Trustmatters,especiallyinemergingmarketswheretheruleoflawisweak.Sodoesaknowledgeofthelocalculture.Andmoderncommunicationsmakethesenetworksanevenmorepowerfultoolofbusiness. Diasporasalsohelpspreadideas.Manyoftheemergingworld’sbrightestmindsareeducatedatWesternuniversities.Anincreasingnumbergohome,takingwiththembothknowledgeandcontacts.IndiancomputerscientistsinBangalorebounceideasconstantlyofftheirIndianfriendsinSiliconValley.China’stechnologyindustryisdominatedby“seaturtles”(Chinesewhohavelivedabroadandreturned. Diasporasspreadmoney,too.Migrantsintorichcountriesnotonlysendcashtotheirfamilies;theyalsohelpcompaniesintheirhostcountryoperateintheirhomecountry.AHarvardBusinessSchoolstudyshowsthat,AmericancompaniesthatemploylotsofethnicChinesepeoplefinditmucheasiertosetupinChinawithoutajointventurewithalocalfirm. Suchargumentsareunlikelytomakemuchheadwayagainsthostilitytowardsimmigrantsinrichcountries.Furyagainstforeignersisusuallybasedontwo(mutuallyincompatible)notions:thatbecausesomanymigrantsclaimwelfaretheyareadrainonthepublicpurse;andthatbecausetheyarepreparedtoworkharderforlesspaytheywilldepressthewagesofthoseatthebottomofthepile.Thefirstisusuallynottrue(inBritain,forinstance,immigrantsclaimbenefitslessthanindigenouspeopledo),andthesecondishardtoestablisheitherway.Somestudiesdoindeedsuggestthatcompetitionfromunskilledimmigrantsdepressesthewagesofunskilledlocals.Butothersfindthiseffecttobesmallornon-existent. Norisitpossibletoestablishtheimpactofmigrationonoverallgrowth.Thesumsaresimplytoodifficult.Yettherearegoodreasonsforbelievingthatitislikelytobepositive.Migrantstendtobehard-workingandinnovative.Thatspursproductivityandcompanyformation.ArecentstudycarriedoutbyDukeUniversityshowedthat,whileimmigrantsmakeupaneighthofAmerica’spopulation,theyfoundedaquarterofthecountry’stechnologyandengineeringfirms.And,bylinkingtheWestwithemergingmarkets,Diasporashelprichcountriestoplugintofast-growingeconomies. Richcountriesarethuslikelytobenefitfromlooserimmigrationpolicy;andfearsthatpoorcountrieswillsufferasaresultofa“braindrain”areoverblown.Theprospectofworkingabroadspursmorepeopletoacquirevaluableskills,andnotallsubsequentlyemigrate.Skilledmigrantssendmoneyhome,andtheyoftenreturntosetupnewbusinesses.Onestudyfoundthatunlesstheylosemorethan20％oftheiruniversitygraduates,thebraindrainmakespoorcountriesricher. Theword“Diaspora”inthispassagemeans_____.
A.the movement of the Jewish people away from their own country to live and work in other countries B.the movement of people from any nation or group away from their own country C.any group that has been dispersed outside its traditional homeland D.a dispersion of an originally homogeneous entity, such as a language or culture正确答案B
