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  3. Diaspora networks—of Huguenots, Scots, Jews and many others—have always been

Diaspora networks—of Huguenots, Scots, Jews and many others—have always been

游客2024-12-28  5
问题     Diaspora networks—of Huguenots, Scots, Jews and many others—have always been a potent economic force, but the cheapness and ease of modern travel has made them larger and more numerous than ever before. There are now 215m first-generation migrants around the world: that’s 3% of the world’s population. If they were a nation, it would be a little larger than Brazil. There are more Chinese people living outside China than there are French people in France. Some 22m Indians are scattered all over the globe. Small concentrations of ethnic and linguistic groups have always been found in surprising places—Lebanese in west Africa, Japanese in Brazil and Welsh in Patagonia, for instance—but they have been joined by newer ones, such as west Africans in southern China.
    These networks of kinship and language make it easier to do business across borders. They speed the flow of information: a Chinese trader in Indonesia who spots a gap in the market for cheap umbrellas will alert his cousin in Shenzhen who knows someone who runs an umbrella factory. Kinship ties foster trust, so they can seal the deal and get the umbrellas to Jakarta before the rainy season ends. Trust matters, especially in emerging markets where the rule of law is weak. So does a knowledge of the local culture. That is why so much foreign direct investment in China still passes through the Chinese diaspora. And modern communications make these networks an even more powerful tool of business.
    Diasporas also help spread ideas. Many of the emerging world’s brightest minds are educated at Western universities. An increasing number go home, taking with them both knowledge and contacts. Indian computer scientists in Bangalore bounce ideas constantly off their Indian friends in Silicon Valley. China’s technology industry is dominated by "sea turtles" .
    Diasporas spread money, too. Migrants into rich countries not only send cash to their families; they also help companies in their host country operate in their home country. A Harvard Business School study shows that American companies that employ lots of ethnic Chinese people find it much easier to set up in China without a joint venture with a local firm.
    Such arguments are unlikely to make much headway against hostility towards immigrants in rich countries. Fury against foreigners is usually based on two notions: that because so many migrants claim welfare they are a drain on the public purse; and that because they are prepared to work harder for less pay they will depress the wages of those at the bottom of the pile.
    The first is usually not true, and the second is hard to establish either way. Some studies do indeed suggest that competition from unskilled immigrants depresses the wages of unskilled locals. But others find this effect to be small or non-existent.
    Nor is it possible to establish the impact of migration on overall growth. The sums are simply too difficult. Yet there are good reasons for believing that it is likely to be positive. Migrants tend to be hard-working and innovative. That spurs productivity and company formation. A recent study carried out by Duke University showed that, while immigrants make up an eighth of America’s population, they founded a quarter of the country’s technology and engineering firms. And, by linking the West with emerging markets, diasporas help rich countries to plug into fast-growing economies.
    Rich countries are thus likely to benefit from looser immigration policy; and fears that poor countries will suffer as a result of a "brain drain" are overblown. The prospect of working abroad spurs more people to acquire valuable skills, and not all subsequently emigrate. Skilled migrants send money home, and they often return to set up new businesses. One study found that unless they lose more than 20% of their university graduates, the brain drain makes poor countries richer.
Government as well as business gains from the spread of ideas through diasporas. Some 500,000 Chinese people have studied abroad and returned, mostly in the past decade; they dominate the think-tanks that advise the government, and are moving up the ranks of the Communist Party. Cheng Li of the Brookings Institution, an American think-tank, predicts that they will be 15-17% of its Central Committee next year, up from 6% in 2002.
    As for the old world, its desire to close its borders is understandable but dangerous. Migration brings youth to ageing countries, and allows ideas to circulate in millions of mobile minds. That is good both for those who arrive with suitcases and dreams and for those who should welcome them.
                                            From The Economist, November 19, 2010 [br] According to the passage, which of the following best defines "diaspora networks"?
选项 A、The ties of travellers, immigrants, emigrants, etc..
B、Social connections of people who are dispersed from their homeland.
C、The sense of kinship felt by ethnic minorities or people from developing countries.
D、The social ties of migrants residing in varied countries.
答案 B
解析 本题为推断题。本题要求找出“散居者网络”最为精当的解释。diaspora一词的希腊词源是diaspeirein，前缀dia指“散开来”(apart or across)，speirein指播种、散布，因此原意是指种子或花粉“散播开来”，植物得以繁衍。自《旧约》以来长期与犹太民族散布世界各地的经历联系在一起。在当代社会中，经过各种重构，旧词添了新意，大量在家园以外生活而又割不断与家园文化种种联系的文化现象和相关的人，都被称作diaspora。有散居文学、散居群体、散居意识等等表达。在不知道词源的情况下，本题可以从scattered all over the globe以及第一段最后各种散居者的具体例子中推断出，diasporal侧重的并不仅仅是移民，而是离开了自己的家园分散在世界各地的意思。选项B中的disperse(散开)就和scatter一样都有这个意思。
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