Thread

1. rvz · 1790344866 · focus · HN ↗

   Europe has no money.

   1. yomismoaqui · 1790346046 · focus · HN ↗

      And yet, more USians move to my "poor" country than the other way around. Make of that what you will.

      1. TMWNN · 1790346489 · focus · HN ↗

         That well-paid Americans like to WFH on Malaga beaches is not a testament to the Spanish economy, but to its weather and (more importantly) low cost of living.

         In any case, don&#x27;t be too sure about your claim. According to &lt;<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;ourworldindata.org&#x2F;where-do-migrants-live-and-where-were-they-born?migrationCountry=Spain" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;ourworldindata.org&#x2F;where-do-migrants-live-and-where-...&gt;, 170K Spanish-born live in the US. By contrast, 69K US-born live in Spain &lt;<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;ourworldindata.org&#x2F;where-do-migrants-live-and-where-were-they-born?migrationCountry=United+States" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;ourworldindata.org&#x2F;where-do-migrants-live-and-where-...&gt;. Given that the US (341 million) has 7.25 times Spain&#x27;s population (47 million), this means that a Spaniard is 17-18 times more likely to move to the US, than an American is to move to Spain.

         1. ar0 · 1790347594 · focus · HN ↗

            This is… a mathematically correct but practically useless way to compare migration flows. Using this approach, Singaporeans are more likely to move to China than Chinese to move to Singapore. Mathematically true, and tells us much about the relative sizes of these two countries, but very, very little about relative attractiveness as a place of living.

            1. TMWNN · 1790348317 · focus · HN ↗

               &gt;Using this approach, Singaporeans are more likely to move to China than Chinese to move to Singapore.

               Using the Our World in Data figures, a Singapore-born person is about four times more likely to move to China than a China-born person is to move to Singapore.

               That does not seem like an unreasonable ratio, given that a) Chinese are not nearly as free, whether economically or politically, to emigrate, and b) those Chinese who have the money and connections to leave are likely going to be in the large cities that offer good living standards. Put another way, if Chinese were as free to move around the world as Singaporeans, there would surely be many more China-born people in Singapore ... perhaps four times more than the current 530K.

               By contrast, the US and Spain are going to be roughly equal in terms of their citizens&#x27; freedom to move about, so that factor can be eliminated from the comparison.

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.