I think what he's suggesting is that a systemic issue might not require systemic-level intervention, ceteris parabus. It is possible for regions to decline when

I think what he's suggesting is that a systemic issue might not require systemic-level intervention, ceteris parabus. It is possible for regions to decline when overall welfare per person who comes from that region is rising. In a world where people are mobile, this is what you expect to happen. More broadly, an issue that's "systemic" in that it's observed in a system might not be "systemic" in the sense that something is broken in the system.