<p>Mass immigration is demographically essential but politically impossible – so argues Lant Pritchett, development economist and visiting professor at the London School of Economics. As populations age in the rich developed countries, immigrant workers will be needed to help with the burden of providing for the elderly. Removing the barriers might also be the quickest way to raise living standards for people in the developing world. But doing so&nbsp;would require&nbsp;swimming against a rising tide of anti-immigrant populism. Pritchett thinks he has a solution – allowing immigrants to come and work temporarily on strictly time-limited contracts. But does his idea stand up to scrutiny?</p><br><p>Martin Wolf is chief economics commentator at the Financial Times. You can find his column <a href="https://www.ft.com/martin-wolf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a></p><br><p>Subscribe to The Economics Show on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-economics-show-with-soumaya-keynes/id1746352576" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/64rPqCkSSBkuSJpkMLRe9i?si=70c1cb4221e54c9a" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://pca.st/6ysdzw0j" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pocket Casts</a> or wherever you listen.</p><br><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/fe3e9f6b-4889-436a-8c87-a0dbaef328b7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com</strong></a></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

The Economics Show

Financial Times

Martin Wolf interviews Lant Pritchett: Is mass immigration inevitable?

DEC 17, 202430 MIN
The Economics Show

Martin Wolf interviews Lant Pritchett: Is mass immigration inevitable?

DEC 17, 202430 MIN

Description

<p>Mass immigration is demographically essential but politically impossible – so argues Lant Pritchett, development economist and visiting professor at the London School of Economics. As populations age in the rich developed countries, immigrant workers will be needed to help with the burden of providing for the elderly. Removing the barriers might also be the quickest way to raise living standards for people in the developing world. But doing so&nbsp;would require&nbsp;swimming against a rising tide of anti-immigrant populism. Pritchett thinks he has a solution – allowing immigrants to come and work temporarily on strictly time-limited contracts. But does his idea stand up to scrutiny?</p><br><p>Martin Wolf is chief economics commentator at the Financial Times. You can find his column <a href="https://www.ft.com/martin-wolf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a></p><br><p>Subscribe to The Economics Show on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-economics-show-with-soumaya-keynes/id1746352576" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/64rPqCkSSBkuSJpkMLRe9i?si=70c1cb4221e54c9a" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://pca.st/6ysdzw0j" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pocket Casts</a> or wherever you listen.</p><br><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/fe3e9f6b-4889-436a-8c87-a0dbaef328b7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com</strong></a></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>