Competition for desirable populations creates winners and losers

When most of us think about immigration we think of people fleeing. After all, when things get bad, those who have the resources and skills leave. Political instability, conflict, and lack of economic opportunities drive population shifts. Pakistan’s high inflation and government instability contributes to an exodus of young, educated workers. In Russia, war has led to hundreds of thousands fleeing the country, primarily those with the skills and education to make them desirable to other countries. But there is another type of war driving immigration: the global war for talent.

The war for economic and military dominance relies on technological advances. Technological advances require on smart, well educated people doing innovative work. The most obvious global competitors for talent, the U.S. and China, have different approaches to getting soldiers for their innovation army. China, with its significant population advantage, is growing its domestic supply of highly skilled technologists. The U.S. relies on importing talent, attracting top tier scientists from around the world to study and work in the U.S. But the U.S. and China are not the only entities competing for talent. With location less important that ever, countries, multinational corporations, organized crime, and non-national military organizations vie to recruit the best and brightest from around the world.

The competition for global talent is creating talent deserts. Those who are left behind lack the money, connections, and marketable skills required to grow robust and stable communities. Local economies collapse, local governments fail, and services stop being delivered. The winners advance, the losers end up stagnating.