Philippe Legrain

“Them and Us” by Philippe Legrain, a former Economist journalist, sets out the benefits of migration and asks how newcomers and locals can get along better. “Wretched Refuse?” by Alex Nowrasteh and Benjamin Powell, a think-tanker and an academic, asks a crucial question: might immigration from poor, corrupt countries undermine the institutions of rich, well-governed ones? Mr […]

Photo by Joy Ekpeti I debated this with Ian Goldin at The Economist’s Open Future conference in London. Having just flown in from Sydney I was extremely jetlagged, but apart from saying the word “fundamentally” a few too many times, I hope my positive, reasoned message came across well. Watch the full day on YouTube; our […]

As part of its excellent Open Future series, The Economist has published an open essay by me that asks: how do we convince sceptics of the value of immigration? The first part is out today, and the subsequent parts will be enriched by readers’ comments. So please take a look and add your ideas and […]

Anne McElvoy interviews me and David Davis MP on The Economist Radio. Listen here

European Spring is reviewed as part of the lead review in this week’s Economist. The Economist writes: Philippe Legrain, who once worked for The Economist, was another close observer of the euro crisis, as an economic adviser to the European Commission president, José Manuel Barroso. His conclusions are similar to Mr Pisani-Ferry’s, if more stridently expressed. […]

“The notion that migration is a one-way movement of permanent settlement is outdated. Most of it is temporary—and it’s time the debate about immigration recognised this reality,” argues Philippe Legrain, an analyst of immigration and the author of “Aftershock”, a recent book analysing economic changes in the wake of the financial crash. Read the full […]

No. I won the debate against David Goodhart on The Economist’s website, by 51%-49%. Thank you to everyone who voted No.

As the world economy tiptoes back from the precipice, there is a growing appetite for books that try to read the future. Two thoughtful studies—one by a former Economist journalist and commentator on globalisation, Philippe Legrain, and the other by Raghuram Rajan, once the chief economist at the IMF and now at the University of Chicago—aim […]

Free trade means that a great product from a small country can succeed in global competition. That is how New Zealand’s Mike Moore came to be the new head of the World Trade Organisation.

Charlene Barshefsky, America’s trade supremo, is a brilliant lawyer. It may be a fatal weakness.