Dr. Huju Liu

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Image courtesy of Dr. Huju Liu

According to Dr. Huju Liu, a Canadian expert on immigrant entrepreneurship, the correlation between immigration and international trade becomes more relevant with each passing year. As we globalise and, in most developed countries, age out of employment, immigrants bring knowledge and much-needed labour, nevermind the direct economic growth associated with a growing population.

In countries like Canada, characterised by a relatively small domestic market and a relatively large share of foreign-born citizens, prosperity depends on international businesses. While considerable research has attempted to describe the connection between immigration and import and export, few have taken it further to examine the impact of immigrant entrepreneurs. Statistics Canada’s research paper “The Impact of Immigrant Business Ownership on International Trade” co-authored by Huju Liu, Loretta Fung and Douwere Grekou is one of the first.