evolving face

Who are Filipino and who are American in this photo? If I didn't know these people- second from the left is my godson Justin, during our visit to International School Manila earlier this week- I wouldn't be able to tell. During my sea-to-shining-sea tour of the US, I met Americans who couldn't tell if I was their kababayan or not: a few thought or assumed that the Philippines is a city or region within the US. The US is so multicultural and diverse that the face of the Statue of Liberty may now very well be Filipino, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, or Jew.

During the plane ride back to Manila, I read an interesting news article on the influx of Koreans migrating to the Philippines and the BID's crackdown on illegal immigrants. A couple of weeks ago, my knee-jerk reaction would have been one of alarm, but having seen how immigrants- including undocumented ones- have powered the American economy since the country was founded, I now see the benefits of creating policies that would attract entrepreneurial Koreans and other foreigners to work and run businesses in our shores.

In the book The Rise of the Creative Class (a related article is here), Richard Florida lists the three T's of economic development: technology, talent and tolerance. He says,

I think it's important for a place to have low entry barriers for people- that is, to be a place where newcomers are accepted quickly into all sorts of social and economic arrangements. Such places gain a creative advantage. All else being equal, they are likely to attract greater numbers of talented and creative people- the sort of people who power innovation and growth....

In a nutshell, we found that creative people are attracted to, and high-tech industry takes root in, places that score high on our basic indicators of diversity- the Gay, Bohemian and other indexes... Why would this be so? It is not because high-tech industries are populated by great numbers of bohemians and gay people. Rather, artists, musicians, gay people and members of the Creative Class in general prefer places that are open and diverse. Low entry barriers are especially important because today places grow not just through higher birth rates (in fact virtually all US cities are declining on this measure), but by their ability to attract people from the outside.

As long as migrants respect our laws and the positive aspects of our culture, the Philippines would do well to welcome their talents and new ideas.

Thanks to Renee Bondi for the song "When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano" in the podcast.