The technology that has permitted globalization has not only facilitated the movement of goods and services, FDI, and financial instruments. It has also made it easier for people to move across borders. The increased speed and reduced cost of transportation have been particularly important in this. So too has been the spread of economic growth. That process not only raises income levels, thereby facilitating travel, but also causes the dislocations that often compel the need to relocate. Beyond all of this, advances in communications have also encouraged migration. As people learn about and aspire to the higher standards of living experienced elsewhere, they are more likely to migrate.

It is no surprise, consequently, to learn that immigration rates to the United States have steadily increased in the years since World War II. During the 1990s that rate was 3.6 per 1,000 of the United States population. By comparison the rate was 1.7 during the 1960s, 2.1 in the 1970s, and 3.1 during the 1980s (U.S. Census Bureau 2000, Table 5, p. 19). Furthermore, the United States is not alone in experiencing increased population inflows. The foreign population as a percentage of the total population increased in sixteen of seventeen European countries for which the World Bank provides data on the subject (World Bank 2001, Table 6.13).

What is of interest is that this increased migration has occurred in the absence of any global agreement to promote the flow of people among nations.