Bear in mind, though, that this is the neolib Economist which always seeks to put a gloss on sordid neolib reality. If you're the best of the best in your field (particularly finance), then you will probably find more opportunity in the winner-take-all-and-the-devil-take-the-hindmost USA and UK. Or if you're numbered among the super-rich and want a no-questions-asked place of domicile where you can park your ill-gotten swag, then NYC and London will be among your preferred destinations. Otherwise, well, ....
But this is digressing from the point I've been making -- namely the ossified class society of the USA (but also the UK). Them that has, gets. Everything has been commercialised -- including higher education. Unless you come from an affluent background you can't afford US higher ed, and higher ed is one of the prereqs for the limited number of halfway decent jobs left. Then again, family connections matter heavily precisely because there are so few good jobs (take out quant finance and IT).
I concede that this may be all be disagreeable and unpalatable to those reared on a diet of manic positive thinking and reading limited to Horatio Alger and Ayn Rand. I also concede that every society is stratified by class -- not just the USA. But the USA markets itself as the land of opportunity -- there's the rub.
