Economic Migration: A Threat or a Blessing to Developed Countries?

INTRODUCTION TO GLOBALISTION Individual Report To what extent is economic migration a threat or a blessing to developed countries? In general, the primary human right is life and to lead this life wherever desirable, where it is possible to live the most freely, easily and in complete security. In order to do this, people move across the world, voluntarily or forcibly, in the search for this new place. Migration is the movement of people from one place in the world to another, due to vital reasons for a better quality of life: political reasons and economic reasons. We know certainly two basic trends that are the base for migration. The first is Global Population growth and the second is the global shift in employment. The first one is referring to the global population, which has deep roots in the past and is concern with the problem of birth and death occurring each day. It is estimate that the world population is continuing to increase starting from the year 1950, when it was just 3 billion people in the world and nowadays, in 2007, when it is 6 billion citizenry- according with the statistics realised by the Census Bureau. The second trend is related to the economic reasons and we will focus on them, being the principal theme for this report. Economic migration results from economic activities that result in the movement of persons from one country to another for entrepreneurial, industrial, professional, labour market or commercial motives. In an era of globalization, economic or labour migration is on the rise. Due to lack of employment opportunities in developing countries and increased demands for low-wage workers in developed countries, youth, women and men are pursuing work in other countries in order to support themselves and their families back home. Recent statistics demonstrate that there are around 200 million persons per year who migrate throughout the world. The International Organization for Migration estimates that there are 80 million economic migrants worldwide. These migrations are most often from poor countries to rich countries rather than the reverse. The principal places attracting migrants are the petroleum producing Persian Gulf countries, the United States and the European Union. It is not confined to poor countries – inhabitants of rich countries also migrate for economic reasons to other countries. Traditionally and historically, the USA has been hotspot of economic migrants since it is seen as the ‘land of opportunity’. Thousands of people from all across the world, including Britain, try to move to the USA for a better life. For example a lecturer at an Ivy League University still earns more than someone at a top university in the UK. Many economic migrants to the USA come from Latin America and the Caribbean. About 150,000 Mexicans enter illegally each year, resulting in 3 to 4 million illegal Mexicans in the USA. They arrive in dangerous conditions such as hidden in the backs of lorries under legal produce. The chart below shows the projected U. S. population growth if immigration and fertility remain similar to today’s rates. [pic] But is economic migration a threat or a blessing to developed countries? A threat is any activity whose appearance is likely to break the social equilibrium and peace in a part of the world. Growing immigration into the rich countries whether voluntary, forced, regular or clandestine tends to be built up into a bubbling volcano that can become active at the least pressure from the lava. It can give rise to three types of threats. On the security level, the influx of migrants can be a source of recruits for a possible terrorist network, on the one hand. On the other hand, neglected immigrants, without means of subsistence, can form networks of criminals; can be contributors to urban insecurity and creators of communities favorable to possible terrorist recruitment efforts. On the economic level, immigrants can be a significant reservoir for the recruitment of cheap labour to the detriment of citizens. That can result in an increase in the unemployment rate for the latter, which becomes a concern for governments. Providing assistance for the immigrants can have an influence on public budgets and contribute to the erosion of the purchasing power of citizens. That could, in the long run, create frustrations among citizens and result in acts of violent discrimination with regrettable consequences. On the socio-cultural level, the struggle for reciprocal influence between immigrant cultures and local cultures could give rise to a national identity conflict through several mechanisms. Immigrants who are victims of discrimination, social injustices and other tension-creating acts, could use violence to demand their rights. Various illicit forms of trafficking, particularly the trafficking of human beings through migration, are also threats arising from migration. ECONOMIC MIGRATION DAMAGES the IMMIGRANT'S HOME COUNTRY To argue that Britain needs economic migrants because of their alleged energy, talent and skills, is to ignore the flip side of that coin which is that the country they came from is going to be deprived of their energy, talent and skills. Every economic migrant who comes here is depriving his or her country of their ability, and is prolonging their own country's agony. It is irresponsible and immoral to deprive countries in this way. Economic migration on these terms is a form of piracy, which should be outlawed! Morally speaking, developed countries should not encourage a brain drain from the developing world, especially not of those who have been described as hard working, educated and entrepreneurial. Immigration’s needed to explain why they advocate the economic piracy and brain draining of the developing world. They need to explain why they advocate a policy guaranteed to keep the developing world in poverty. The people who promote open borders and migration, either as an imagined â€Å"solution† to global economic injustice, or population pressure, or because they want to effect demographic change in the Western world, are in the wrong. Here are some of their frequently heard myths: â€Å"We need economic migrants to keep the Health Service going† The only reason nurses from Asia are being imported is because we do not, and won't, pay a living wage to nurses from this country. This is a new form of 21st century slavery. Britain abolished the Atlantic slave trade. Let's not start a new version. Why are we importing teachers when we have teachers on the dole? It is not because we have a shortage of labour. It is because we have a shortage of people willing to do these jobs at the low wages offered. â€Å"Many companies could not survive without immigrants† So what? If the companies are only employing immigrants then what goods are they doing for anyone other than immigrants? â€Å"Immigrants do the work we would not do† This is not necessarily true. Are we to believe that without any immigrants we would have no cafes, no waiters, and no cleaners? Off course not. The only reason immigrants are doing these jobs is because they don't pay well enough for indigenous people to accept them. Relying on immigrants to do this work is a form of slavery. Instituting a modern form of slavery is immoral. It is not a sign of a progressive society. It is certainly not something of which we should be proud. Instead, it is morally right to do our own drudgery work. â€Å"Many economic migrants are highly skilled and have a lot to offer† Again, this demonstrates the extent to which their home countries are missing out on their talent and skills. If a talented person flees his or her homeland then they become part of their home country's problem, not part of the solution. â€Å"Immigrants create jobs. Look at Marks and Spencer, for example† Simply because a tiny handful of past immigrants went on to found high street chain stores, does not mean that all immigrants are potentially able to do this, will do this, or that it is something only immigrants can do. If there is a genuine need for more shops and businesses then that need will be met, without the help of immigrants. Secondly, because something happened in the past does not mean it will happen again. And thirdly, in the past, levels of immigration were much lower and there were periods of almost zero immigration, where new immigrants had the time to settle and assimilate into society. â€Å"When economic migrants are forced to enter illegally, they become prey to criminal traffickers, and so the answer is to make it easier for them to apply for entry legally† Are we to believe that all illegal immigrants, many of whom do not even speak English, would be granted admission if they applied legally? So long as there are any kinds of border controls whatsoever, then there will always be people attempting to enter Britain illegally. That is because such people simply have no skills to offer legally. If we really wanted to cut out criminal traffickers then we would simply open the doors wide so everybody could enter in ease, and that is the inevitable logic of this kind of thinking. That would be the irresponsible and immoral act of a government, which had abdicated any concern for the political, social, cultural, environmental and quality of life consequences of its policies. There is a lot of disadvantages of economic migration to developed countries but is there any benefits of this? Yes is the simple answer and the benefits are many. Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said it was important to â€Å"strike a new balance† in immigration policy. â€Å"That means looking at the wider benefits to the developed countries economy on the one hand, but it means we have to take into account the wider impact on these countries public services and life as well. We need to weigh both things up before we take big decisions on immigration. † â€Å"It is clear that migration brings huge economic benefits to the developed countries such as United Kingdom or United States of America. † for BBC news said Dr Sriskandarajah. Low jobless rates in Ireland, Sweden, Britain, America and other developed countries with high migration suggest that, so far, foreigners are not squeezing out natives. Migrants also help to create jobs, because a good supply of labour encourages those with capital to invest more. Also, foreign workers are often more flexible than native ones, too. Having already moved from Mexico to New York, lets say, they are probably willing to take a job in Washington. Migrant labour helps to keep economies on an even keel. And they are consumers, too, renting accommodation and buying goods and services. His Polish customers, who are fond of Smirnoff vodka and east European lager, delight the owner of the off-licence for example in Holloway road. Holloway supermarkets, fast-food restaurants and other shops are flourishing too. Business benefits- price/wage growth is likely to slow or fall back, protected by the minimum wage, as a new supply of working age migrants boost the Scottish economy. This provides clear business benefits and helps explain the CBI's support for managed immigration to support business growth. A shortage of workers can stifle growth and lead to wage inflation reducing the competitiveness of Scottish made goods. There is a popular myth is that economic migrants come here and steal ‘our jobs'. There is no fixed supply of jobs, indeed more workers in the economy fuel more jobs. So attracting new labour into work will actually create jobs rather than reduce them. Indeed many sectors struggle to fill vacancies leading to skill shortages both within essential public services and in the private sector. To conclude, like in every phenomenon there are blessings and threats to others. But the 21st century phenomenon of economic migration is a reality that openly threatens peace in the world. States and the international community together should integrate this question into their political strategies in order to find ways and means likely to give rise to a better socioeconomic and security balance among people. Word count (excluding bibliography)- 1996 words BIBLIOGRAPHY Newspapers: ? The Economist print edition- ‘Migration’, May 10th 2001 ? The Economist print edition- ‘of bed sheets and bison grass vodka’, Jan 3rd, 2008 Web pages and TV: ? http://issues. takingitglobal. org ? http://www. globalfootprints. org/issues ? www. migrationwatchuk. org ? http://www. northlan. ov. uk/business+and+employment/local+economy/economic+inf ormation/ ? Colonel Kaumbu Yankole Army / Democratic Republic of the Congo- ‘is migration a threat? ’ ? Bbc news- Migration 'causes pressure in UK'. Wednesday, 17 October 2007 ? http://www. economist. com/finance/displaystory. cfm? story_id=E1_NGDRDTJ Books: ? Suman Gupta and Tope Omoniyi- The cultures of econ omic migration: international perspectives, 2007 ? Bjorn Lomborg- Solutions for the world's biggest problems: costs and benefits ? Stephen Glover- Migration: an economic and social analysis, c2001