The most interesting part of this is the irrational thinking it exposes in the developed world.
What's the difference between extending Canada to include a bit of Africa, and letting more Africans move to the existing Canada? I think it's pretty minor. Then why would Canadians bother with Romer's plan, when they could simply relax their immigration laws?
Surely, immigration is good for the home country of the emigrants economically speaking (think remittances, entrepreneurs going back, etc). This, I'd argue, is indeed better than foreign aid. But what Romer is arguing is that his model is meant to change the rules and bring the ideas to the country. As an immigrant, what would be the point of moving to Canada and learning new models/ideas if when you go back, you won't have the power to change them and expose others to them under the same circumstances?
What's the difference between extending Canada to include a bit of Africa, and letting more Africans move to the existing Canada? I think it's pretty minor. Then why would Canadians bother with Romer's plan, when they could simply relax their immigration laws?