This excerpt originally appeared in The Washington Post on April 26, 2012.

For the last 23 years, even as he traveled and eaten in more than 80 countries to discuss economics, Cowen has always happily returned to what he calls “the magic of Northern Virginia.” For it’s here, Cowen says, that a combination of immigration, quality education, wealth, good business environment and affordable housing leads him to conclude that “Northern Virginia does integration better than any other part of the country, and I’ve been to almost all of them.”