Can Chile Lead Latin America's Brain Boom?
Hudson Institute excerpt
...critical to innovation, Chile has become a leader: Through a program known as Start-Up Chile, which offers visas and grants to promising entrepreneurs, the South American country has been luring youthful companies from abroad. As of October, Start-Up Chile had helped about 500 firms and nearly 900 entrepreneurs -- mostly of foreign origin, but also many with Chilean roots. Here's how its architect, Chilean businessman Nicolas Shea, a Stanford graduate, described his inspiration in a recent interview with The Economist: "I saw smart people being kicked out of the United States because they couldn't get visas to stay. And I thought: Why not bring some of them to Chile?"
The nature of global economic competition is forcing many rich and middle-income countries to pay more attention to skilled immigrants. Chile has found a clever new way to attract them. Other Latin American nations should take notice. For that matter, so should the United States.