The Culture Transplant

The preface, for sure, is what I want readers to encounter first. I ask, “What’s the best practical immigration policy for the average middle-income country?” My answer: “Let in just about anyone from China.” I mean, just look around: across Southeast Asia, a good predictor of how rich and market-friendly a country is turns out to be “Percent of Chinese Ancestry.” More poor countries should be more welcoming of large, culturally and economically transformative Chinese immigrant communities. Based on the experience of Southeast Asia, it’s a pretty reliable path to widespread prosperity in the long run.

And the preface offers a great illustration of a key message of cultural transplant theory: that well-chosen migration policies can improve a nation’s long-run economic destiny.

I’ve written a trilogy now, my Singapore Trilogy.

Readers are often persuaded by what I say in all three books—Hive Mind, 10% Less Democracy, and now The Culture Transplant—but they can’t quite bring themselves to say so publicly. I get DMs, or emails, or hear comments at conferences that let me know that readers are persuaded by what I have to say, but they just can’t talk about it in public, can’t teach it in the classroom.

I know I won’t win over a lot of public voices—people are understandably risk-averse about speaking up on controversial social science topics—but I do know that I’m routinely winning over people’s private minds. And for me, winning over their private minds is a massive achievement.

I hope that The Culture Transplant wins over many more private minds.