From Emigration to Immigration - Case Study Example

Introduction Ireland’s economy, not long ago was identified as the “basket case of Europe.” It has been changed in just 15 years. The paper ought to give a general view of Ireland’s economic history with an emphasis on the employment rate and immigration. This paper will set out with a discussion of the different contributions of immigrants to the Irish economic growth. It will then tackle the different views regarding the effects of the said contributions, whether they are positive or negative in light of various economic points of view. This will be followed by the different benefits and shortcomings of immigration and finally with a discussion of the policy challenges that economist predicts. From Emigration to Immigration The population of Ireland is 5.5 million at present, but had been over 8 million in 1841. It had augmented hastily from 4 or 5 million at the Act of Union with Britain in 1801. As the population was to be destroyed by the Famine of 1845 to1848, together by death and mass emigration, there had been elevated emigration well before the Famine. More than 1.5 million had emigrated between 1815 and 1840. One third of these left to Britain and of those who went west, half came towards Canada, and the other half to the United States in that period. This stage of emigration which was to rise swiftly in the stage instantly after the Famine was an extraordinary high proportion of the total population, unparalleled in other European states. The Famine directed to the death and emigration of over one million people. The population fell to 6.5 million by 1851 and by an additional million to 5.5 million by 1871. There was de-industrialization, as stated by the author (Crotty, R., 1986), in the 19th century in the majority of Ireland, with the exemption of the North East. Five million people emigrated between 1851 and 1921 and most of these were sole adults. The tough farmers left the farm to the eldest son and many siblings went abroad and so the honesty of their farms was preserved. People had far less children and those who had property were to become tough in their attitude to heritage. Emigration and transforms in productiveness permitted for augmented profits for those who stayed behind. The following table gives the net outflow each decade from 1850 up to the ending of the 20th century and in addition for the three years to 2003 inclusive. It shows a huge outflow of people from Ireland mainly given the small size of the population. (Crotty, R., 1986). Table 1: Net Emigration from Ireland, 1850–2003 1850s* 800,000 1860s* 697,000 1870s 502,000 1880s 597,000 1890s 396,000 1900s 262,000 1910s 116,000 1920s** 136,000 1930s 101,000 1940s 250,000 1950s 409,000 1960s 135,000 1970s (104,000) 1980s 208,000 1990s (37,400 ) 2000-2003 (129,900) (This table is created by the author based upon the information gathered from Crotty, R., 1986). (Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO); Dublin) However, in 1987, the Irish economy had executed very badly in the previous seven years of the decade, making the difference of upturn in the next thirteen appear even more extraordinary. The reasons for the continued growth of the Irish economy are difficult, yet numerous key factors stand out. The utmost victory in Irish economic history was the immense job creation program. It was seen that in the 16 years to 2004, there was an increase of about 67 per cent, but the most rigorous growth in jobs was from 1994 to 2002 where, in just eight years, more than half a million net new jobs were formed, an augment of 43 per cent. The performance became even greater when the spin in migration was further added in. Tens of thousands were emigrating and now the economy has engrossed a quite high level of immigration, while concurrently maintaining comparatively low unemployment. (Lee, George, 1994). The figure below shows the huge increase in employment. Employment had essentially been higher just after Independence but had been balanced over at 1.1 million for decades. In the early stage of the boom, from 1987 to 1993, there was jobless increase, with the exemption of 1990, when employment raised significantly. In the period 1995-2000, about a quarter of a million people migrated to Ireland, of whom about half were returning Irish. The total figure for immigrants, together with Irish returnees, in this five-year period is an astounding 7% just about of the 1996 population 3.6 million. There are no equivalents to these statistics in other EU countries. This figure of 7% for in-migration in 1995 to 2000 would be the same of close to 4 million persons in France. Furthermore, this condition of considerable net immigration is set to carry on for several years to come, though the actual figures will evidently be influenced by international and internal economic growths. It will be obvious that the vast majority of immigrants are return Irish migrants or individuals who came from other EU member countries or the USA. Actual growth rates in the late 1990’s, at more than 8% of GDP, were the highest in the OECD area. Indeed they went above any other member State by a factor of more than 2. Additionally, the economic boom did generate new jobs. In the decade 1991 to 2000, almost half a million new jobs were added to the Irish economy, a growth of 43% in the total labor force. (Piaras Mac, 2001). Views on Immigration People think that immigration both causes positive and negative impact on Ireland’s economy. Most people are aware that Ireland experienced a 1% to about 10% increase in the number of non-nationals in a span of ten years and such awareness have caused both fear and approval from the citizens. While most people see immigrants as freeloaders and job snatchers others view them as helpers and economic contributors. How so? Immigrants become freeloaders only when they immigrate without anything specific to do in the country that can increase economic profit, they simply want to enjoy the merits of the economy. Job Snatchers on the other hand is a term used popularly to refer to immigrants who grabs out the opportunities that the legal citizens or native nationals deserve. In the case of Ireland, immigrants are welcomed on the basis that they have a business or work in the country. These ‘business or works’ are usually jobs that natives does not want to take, such as being chambermaids or restaurant waiters. Benefits and Shortcomings Being so, immigrants contribute to lower inflation; people also welcome the mixing of different cultures. That diverging of cultures provides more options for the people. It opens up new perspective and ventures. With improvements and more choices on foods, style/fashion and way of life, people becomes more creative and expressive. However, fear still resides to those people who calculate the amount that Ireland spends on Social Welfare and how much of it goes to non-nationals. Most specifically on the case of asylum seekers which seems to flood the country This type of attitude cannot be prevented since as mentioned above freeloaders seem unavoidable. Nevertheless it can be assessed that the benefits of immigration outweighs its shortcomings. Policy Challenges With the forecast of Ireland Economic growth rate down to only 1.6% this year according to the Economic and Social Research Institute, unemployment is expected to increase. Nonetheless, there is still an increase in employment on other sectors than construction, agriculture and manufacturing. Although immigration is a factor, the primary reason for such decline is considered by the National Irish Bank to the slowdown of the Residential Construction activity that is now near its end. Such activity will lessen the number of immigrants and workers but it would live a number of jobless immigrants and natives alike. With such challenge facing the Ireland’s economy, policy makers are trying to find ways to level out the unemployment problems through employing only skilled workers. Nevertheless, if the vast victory in employment formation is to be continued, then greater and more focused investment in human capital is essential. Ireland has many other troubles which have yet to addressed, which consist of overcrowding, poor transportation, a high cost of living, a high reliance on foreign investment as half of all industries are owned by foreign multinationals, a thin and unfair tax structure and considerable poverty. The increasing rate of globalization, the resultant hastily changing nature of work, of the labor market and mature populations mean that it is very important for economies and for industries to repeatedly improve work and life skills, all through life. Employers want workers with better skills and flexibility as careers is no longer with one firm. People change their jobs more often than in the past. For an economy to be well-organized and socially comprehensive, it is significant that there is not a large cleavage amid well educated and poorly educated employees. Learning prospects for the unemployed, the disadvantaged or those in undersized firms, or who have poor education, are not good. There are huge gaps among those with third level education and those without and these extend over a lifetime. Moreover, the native population, their skills and their talents, are being plunged by good quality of the influx of cheap foreign labor as it is much easier for vested employer classes to import people from Eastern Europe. The government of Ireland is however; now generating a huge underclass of unemployed Irish. Ireland is now being run not as a society for the advantage of its people, but rather an economy. It has been forecasted that there is going to be in an identity of Ireland for next 10 or 15 years time as such. Although, the aim of the present government is to merge the growing immigrant population with the people of Ireland. (Keane, Colm, 1993). In 2007, the fall in house building was a bit slow considerably. As being forecasted, GNP is expected to boost up by 3% in real terms in 2008, which is considerably below the growth rate of probable output. Inflationary pressures will alleviate, but unemployment is likely to increase. Tax revenues partially depend on the property market and will rise more slowly in coming years. Expenditure growth needs to be restricted to uphold sound public finances over the medium term. Public investment that relieves the supply-side restraints will be given priority over current spending, while quick pay increases in the public sector will be avoided. Conclusion The impact of the change from emigration to immigration place Ireland as the main hotspot in the European Union’s economy. There were more and more investors coming to Ireland. The United States are reported to invest more in Ireland than they invested in China. The economic policies of Ireland create a convenient environment for immigrants. It also results to native-nationals returning to their home. As can be surmised on the situation of Ireland, immigration is not a problem, what makes it problematic is the way it is being utilize and seen by the people. Indeed immigration poses dangers and problems most specifically on matters concerning allocation of resources which will always be scarce, however through generating the proper jobs for the people, the labor force can create great benefits for the country. Immigrants expand the economy by creating more work forces. It lowers the minimum wage that gives way to more employment. It reduces inflation by creating more consumers of services. All-in-all, immigration expands the economy creating more jobs and increasing the economic growth in Ireland. Bibliography Crotty, R., 1986, Ireland in Crisis, Tralee, Brandon. European Commission, 2004, European Economy, Spring, Brussels. FAS, 2002, Training in Companies, How Does Ireland Score? FAS, Dublin. Finfacts Team, 2008, National Irish Bank reduces 2008 Irish Economic Forecast from 3.9% to 2.9%. Retrieved April 12, 2008. http://www.finfacts.com/irishfinancenews/article_1013130.shtml Keane, Colm, 1993, The Jobs Crisis, RTE, Mercier, Dublin. Lee, George, 1994, The Insider-Outsider Economy, ISME, Dublin. Piaras Mac, 2001, ‘Immigration into Ireland: Trends, Policy Responses, Outlook,’ viewed 3 April 2008, http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:6CwGLHYmbGUJ:www.library.uq.edu.au/training/citation/harvard_6.pdf+harvard+writing+styles&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=pk Read More