One of the most remarkable stories of immigration in the last half-century is that of Indians to the United States. People of Indian origin make up a little over 1 percent of the American population now, up from barely half a percent at the turn of the millennium. Not only has its recent growth been extraordinary, but this population from a developing nation with low human capital is now the most educated and highest income group in the world’s most advanced nation. The Other One Percent is a careful, data-driven, comprehensive account of the three core processes—selection, assimilation, and e ... More

One of the most remarkable stories of immigration in the last half-century is that of Indians to the United States. People of Indian origin make up a little over 1 percent of the American population now, up from barely half a percent at the turn of the millennium. Not only has its recent growth been extraordinary, but this population from a developing nation with low human capital is now the most educated and highest income group in the world’s most advanced nation. The Other One Percent is a careful, data-driven, comprehensive account of the three core processes—selection, assimilation, and entrepreneurship—that have led to this rapid rise. This unique phenomenon is driven by—and, in turn, has influenced—wide-ranging changes, especially the ongoing revolution in information technology and its impact on economic globalization, immigration policies in the United States, higher education policies in India, and foreign policies of both nations. If the overall picture is one of economic success, the details reveal the critical issues faced by the immigrants stemming from the social, linguistic, and class structure in India; the professional and geographic distribution in the United States; the simultaneous expressions of pan-Indian and regional identities, and simultaneous leadership in high-skill industries (like computers and medicine) and low-skill industries (like hospitality and retail trade); and the multi-generational challenges of a diverse group from the world’s largest democracy fitting into its oldest.