Mar 29, 2009

AnnaLee Saxenian on the Economic Benefits of Foreign Students

From the Financial Times

Soapbox: Cold welcome in the US

By AnnaLee Saxenian

Entrepreneurship in the US technology sector is fuelled by immigrant engineers and scientists. Foreign-born students receive more than half of all US doctorates in engineering, maths, computer science, physics and economics and — along with a growing population of international MBAs — have started about half of Silicon Valley’s technology companies.

But the US has changed from a land of opportunity to a country where even highly skilled immigrants feel unwelcome. We have raised barriers for visas, limited access to public sector jobs and reduced the hiring of foreign students for fear of political backlash.

For this reason, US policymakers and educators should be alarmed by a recent survey showing that foreign-born graduate students believe their skills are more valuable in their home countries than in the US....

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Last updated:

October 4, 2016