The New York Times discovers Human Biodiversity

NYT: Trump's wish for iPhones to be made in America is a fantasy because non-Asians have fat fingers.

From the New York Times’ news section:

Is Trump’s ‘Made in America’ iPhone a Fantasy?

Apple has resisted pressure to make its most important product in the United States since 2016, and instead has moved some production to India.

By Tripp Mickle

Reporting from San Francisco

… What does China offer that the United States doesn’t?

Small hands, a massive, seasonal work force and millions of engineers.

Young Chinese women have small fingers, and that has made them a valuable contributor to iPhone production because they are more nimble at installing screws and other miniature parts in the small device, supply chain experts said. In a recent analysis the company did to explore the feasibility of moving production to the United States, the company determined that it couldn’t find people with those skills in the United States, said two people familiar with the analysis who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Back in 1998, I made a similar argument about East Asian hands in my review in National Review of Harvard economic historian David Landes’ The Wealth and Poverty of Nations.

Paywall here with my long lost book review after it.