Returning to the Roost

It's a good thing New Zealand has plenty of cattle, because these days it needs a lot of fatted calves: its prodigal sons are coming home in record numbers. Long resigned to losing its best and brightest to the bright lights and big cities of Asia, Europe and North America, the country is suddenly witnessing a reverse brain drain. The global economic downturn, combined with post-9/11 anxiety, is driving many expatriate Kiwis back to their antipodean homeland. It helps that New Zealand's economy, like Australia's, is bucking the global trend and growing at around 4%.

Last year produced...