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Stuck in Canada: Talent Migration or Lack Thereof

 Toronto (PHOTO: JOHN VETTERLI/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS) Ideally, the unemployed move where the jobs are. U.S. workers are among the most geographically mobile in the world. Canada is in the tier below.  Less moving is a drag on economic...

Posted May 22, 2013    

Economic Geography and Gentrification in Buffalo

Portland is dying. Buffalo is gentrifying. We live in interesting times:“This is much more though a forced migration that is coming and I think that is the tone that has really upset the neighborhood,” Ricardo Herrera, executive director of the...

Posted May 20, 2013    

Silicon Valley Decline: Talent and Urban Economics

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...

Posted May 17, 2013    

Shrinking City Myths

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...

Posted May 14, 2013    

Restaurant Talent Migration

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...

Posted May 12, 2013    

Cuba’s Talent Export Strategy

Brain drain is economic development. Exporting talent is a smart strategy. The return on investment for Cuba:So what might Cuba’s latest foray into medical diplomacy entail? In return for physicians and other health workers, Brazil is expected to...

Posted May 9, 2013    

Third Coast Diaspora

A great city is a magnet that pulls in talent from everywhere. On that score, New York has no equal. Studying Pittsburgh, a great city exports talent. Steeler fans are ubiquitous, obnoxiously so. On that score, New York has no equal. America’s...

Posted May 8, 2013    

Talent Retention Subsidies

Brain drain is a positive indicator. When an individual leaves her hometown, she benefits. The community did an excellent job educating its children. The best and brightest migrate. Michigan has decided to put a stop to all of this economic...

Posted May 5, 2013    

How the Internet Should Increase Geographic Mobility

You go where you know. Relocation is risky business. Another law of migration from Ernest George Ravenstein: “Most migrants only proceed a short distance, and toward centers of absorption.” Moving far from home is the exception, not the rule....

Posted May 4, 2013    

Demographic Mesofacts

Why is population such an important metric to economic development? I argue that the obsession with shrinking cities and brain drain is a relic of the Manufacturing Economy. The conceptual framework is a century old. A lot has changed since 1910....

Posted April 26, 2013    

More Evidence Of Innovation Economy Decline

The world is getting flatter. The Creative Class economy is dying. As agriculture and manufacturing before it, innovation is converging. In general, that's good news for most places. It's bad news for the winners of the last round of agglomeration....

Posted April 21, 2013    

Ironic Migration: Exodus From Vancouver

The headline screams, "Hong Kong Chinese leaving Vancouver ‘by the thousands’." That sounds bad, really bad. The caption under the photo does little to rein in the sensationalism:Mainland Chinese arrivals in Vancouver outstripped those from Hong...

Posted April 19, 2013