Have you used it to increase your line of credit?
Reason Magazine, by way of Arts & Letters Daily, has a fascinating piece that begins with this enticing (to me) opener: A Mexican migrant to the U.S. is five times more productive than one who stays home. Why is that?
The answer is not the obvious one: This country has more machinery or tools or natural resources. Instead, according to some remarkable but largely ignored research—by the World Bank, of all places—it is because the average American has access to over $418,000 in intangible wealth, while the stay-at-home Mexican's intangible wealth is just $34,000.
But what is intangible wealth, and how on earth is it measured? And what does it mean for the world's people—poor and rich? That's where the story gets even more interesting. The value here, as descried in a World Bank study, is from educational systems and other social institutions, like the rule of law. The result? "Cropland, pastures and forests are more valuable in rich countries because they can be combined with other capital like machinery and strong property rights to produce more value." It's a short piece definitely worth a look. kalt@law.msu.edu Brian Kalt is a law professor at Michigan State University |
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