Sustainable Development in World Trade Law - Case Study Example

Business Introduction Canada is one of the wealthiest and developed nations in the world. The country is governed by a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II being its head of state (OECD 50). Canada’s economy is among the largest and advanced economy in the world with advanced trade networks. Canada is amongst those countries with the highest Human Development Index in the world (Morse 153). The federal government of Canada enforces policies such as publicly funded health care, progressive taxation, enforcement of the rule of law and respect to human rights. The country focuses on poverty elimination through increasing its citizens’ standard of living. Canada is among the top nations characterized by government transparency, rising education levels, economic freedom, and increased quality of life among its citizens (OECD 39). Canada is filled with citizens of diverse cultures and the country has constantly encouraged unity in diversity and allowing citizens to pursue their cultures and traditions. South Africa on the other hand is an upper-middle income developing country with an exploitative past of apartheid regime (Abegunrin 49). The country adapted constitutional democracy characterized by the division of powers among the executive, judiciary, and the legislature. Canada’s political environment is a major bolster to its profound economic growth since it offers a conducive environment for both domestic and foreign investors. Such approaches serve to alleviate any poverty threats since the continuous investments lead to increased employment opportunities (OECD 52). These opportunities also translate to increased per capita incomes, and innovativeness due to the presence of investment capital amongst the country’s population. On the contrary, South Africa lags behind in establishing the desired political climate for the domestic and potential foreign investors. The country is predominantly renowned for its diverse ethnic groups, and racial differences that date back to the apartheid period. These factors serve as hindrances to achieving the desired rate of economic growth with the indigenous population lagging behind due to the lack of enough employment opportunities to cater for the available population. Mainly, the challenges exceedingly affect the population’s living conditions and their ability to reinvest their extra-earned incomes due to the presence of limited opportunities, antisocial practices, and poor rate of technological advancement. The country is characterized by high unemployment, high crime rates, and high poverty levels (Abegunrin 49), with a third of its population living in less than a dollar per day and high levels of inequalities. The aspect contrasts broadly with the Canadian economical and social welfare since the two countries differ in compared to Canada. As Canada, South Africa is also characterized with diverse cultures and traditions. South Africa has a population of over 50 million people while Canada has a population of approximately 35 million people most of whom, are immigrants and form the country’s work force. Therefore, the issue of population poses as a significant drawback since the high rates of poverty levels, and subsequent population increases lead to increased challenges with the rate of illiteracy continuing to grow profusely (OECD 70). Since the government fails to grant vital social projects, the South African community continues to struggle with poverty thus; the factors serve to propel increases in crime rates and reduced rates in GDP and GNP growth despite the availability of abundant resources. Canada’s population has risen unbelievably, approximately 35 million in 2013 and this increase in population is highly accounted for by the increased levels of immigration as the native-born citizens accounting for only a tenth of the population increase. Canada’s Immigration Program indicated that Canada had the highest per capita immigration in the world. Approximately 6 million immigrants lived in Canada in 2008. Currently, the immigrants account for more that 50% of Canada’s population. Canada’s immigration policy allows family members, skilled workers and businesspersons or investors, immigrants for compassionate reasons and refugees into the country, the immigrants have made a great influence on the development of economy since they are part of Canada’s work force and by increasing the state’s labor force, the country’s productivity levels also increases. The goal of Canada’s Immigration Policy is to encourage youthful, bilingual, highly educated, and skilled immigrants to replace the aging Canadian work force (Krahn, Karen and Graham 52) with youthful skilled workers. Despite increasing Canada’s size of the labor force and tax base, which has led to economic growth of Canada, immigration has also affected the Canadian workforce in more than one way. It has led to increased labor supply in the country, which has in turn led to wage depression. It has led to rise in unemployment levels among the unskilled and semiskilled natives as well as increased competition for job opportunities. Research by Southern Africa Migration Project indicated that 81% of Lesotho’s adult populations live in South Africa, most of which form the work force. It was after the end of the exploitative apartheid regime, 1980s, that South Africa became a destination for immigrants. Approximately 350,000 Mozambicans fleeing the civil war in their country settled in South Africa. Only 20% returned home after the war (Gibney 568). In the mid 19th century, when diamond and gold industries boomed in the country, many immigrants were attracted to the country to seek employment opportunities. An application of a new immigration Act by South Africa in 2002 saw immigrants as a potential creator of a labor-intensive workforce that will drive the country towards achieving full economic development. The Act aimed at absorbing skilled immigrants and foreign investors to South Africa to create a more intensive labor force. The impact of immigration on the countries’ economic development and employment of work force Canada’s low population growth has negatively affected economic growth of Canada until the country resulted in encouraging immigration to increase its labor force and economic output. It turned out that immigrants in Canada are more educated than the Canadian population (Krahn, Karen and Graham 147). About half of the immigrants hold a university degree compared to only 21% Canadian born population. With such qualifications, the immigrants participate in the economic development of the country through securing job opportunities hence increasing the size of the work force and the government’s tax base. Therefore, the immigrants in Canada serve for the best of the local economy since unlike the salaries accrued by the immigrants during the tenure, all other intrinsic benefits lead to the growth of the Canadian welfare and the society (OECD 74). On the contrary, the Canadian case varies broadly with that of South Africa whose educated elite relocate to other countries in their bid to secure better employment opportunities. The immigrants form majority of the Canadian work force and this has negatively affected the native-born work force since the immigrants proved to be qualified or overqualified for job opportunities and secure better employment opportunities compared to the native-born unskilled or semi skilled Canadian workers (Krahn, Karen and Graham 147). The majority of immigrants to South Africa on the other hand, work either as skilled or semiskilled workers in the mining industries, which are the backbone of the country’s economy (Gibney 567). Most of the immigrants are unskilled or semi skilled and majority of them being women and children who are refugees or who have escaped war in their countries such as the estimated 220,000 Mozambican refugees who remained in South Africa (Gibney 568). The economy of South Africa faced high levels of unemployment and an increased number of skilled immigrants put the native population at a risk of unemployment, job displacement of the unskilled or semi skilled workers and wage depression due to increased labor supply. Most of South African immigrants came from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Lesotho among other countries and the immigration policy Act allowed the immigrants to work in the mines, these immigrants formed almost 80% of the mines work force (Gibney 587). Immigration policy also allowed foreign investors in the country (Gibney 588). The foreign investors owned business enterprises, which created more job opportunities to the native population, hence increasing the country’s GDP. Canada has been facing labor shortages and resulted in immigration acts to attract skilled immigrants. This included the Chinese immigrants who built the Canadian Pacific railway, which has increased transportation of goods and services to the market. Canada supports immigration due to its low birth rates. Immigration policy in Canada is meant to save the country from economic dangers that might face the country with its aging work force such dangers include lack of youthful energetic workers in the future or lack of a replacement to the aging workforce. South Africans unemployment levels had risen to 35% by the first quarter of 2012. Being among the countries with the highest education standard in Africa, South Africa has many graduates with no job opportunities, skilled immigrants are a competition to scarce job opportunities available in the country. In conclusion, immigration can have positive or negative effects to a country's economy. In a Canada, immigration policies focusing on skilled, highly literate, and bilingual immigrants will lead to economic development by creating a skilled and labor-intensive workforce and a strong tax base for the government (OECD 74). It is relatively important for the Canadian government to control immigration because, in the long term, increased immigration will lead to increased unemployment levels, depressing wages and work displacement of the natives. In South Africa, immigration policy that allows refugees has led to increased levels of unemployment and population pressure especially when the refugees do not end up returning to their home countries, foreign investors create job opportunities to the natives and should therefore be encouraged. Governments should therefore monitor and control immigration levels in their in their countries to ensure that immigration form more good than harm to their economies. Work cited Abegunrin, Olayiwola. Africa in Global Politics in the Twenty-First Century: A Pan-African Perspective. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. Internet resource. Gehring, Markus W, and Segger M.-C. Cordonier. Sustainable Development in World Trade Law. The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 2005. Print. Gibney, Matthew J. Immigration and Asylum: From 1900 to the Present. Santa Barbara, Calif. [u.a.: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Print. Governance for Sustainable Development: Five Oecd Case Studies. Paris: OECD, 2002. Print. Krahn, Harvey, Karen D. Hughes, and Graham S. Lowe. Work, Industry, and Canadian Society. Toronto: Nelson Education, 2011. Print. Morse, Stephen. Indices and Indicators in Development: An Unhealthy Obsession with Numbers. London: Earthscan, 2004. Internet resource. Read More