Human Migration and Its Impacts: A Discussion and Analysis - Essay Example

Section/# Human Migration and Its Impacts: A Discussion and Analysis Introduction: Since the dawn of time, individuals have found it necessary to move as a function of providing resources to themselves and for their families. In ancient times, migration was oftentimes a result of war and famine. As such, as the 19th progressed, the power of industrialization and the need for a diverse society and workforce to provide the human resources that powered production was an essential and vital component that determined the way in which future migration would develop (Monk & Highland 39) . As a function of seeking to understand this dynamic to a more full and complete degree, the following analysis will engage the reader with a discussion of how the human migration is currently exhibited, the manner through which trade and economic impacts upon it, issues relating to migration and economic security, and the impacts that high numbers of refugees have on a host nation. Further, as this topic is explored and related to source documentation, it is the hope of this student that the reader will come to a more informed realization for how the changes that took place the past; with regard to migration and a further understanding of its impact with determining the way in which the current world is defined and exhibited. History and Background: Within the past several hundred years, human migration was fundamentally impacted by the availability of resources that came to be present within places such as the United States, Canada, and South America. As markets began to open and the rate of international trade developed, the availability of individuals to move from one part of the globe to another was maximized alongside this dynamic. As such, recognizing that they might be able to drastically improve their lives by relocating to one of the previously mentioned areas of the globe, tens of thousands of people took it upon themselves to sell their possessions and travel the globe looking for better opportunities. Further, the emancipation of the serfs within Russia and the relaxed political climates elsewhere encouraged something of a new dynamic with respect to the way in which people understood their own opportunities, the importance of native geography, and the potential for gain that movement could afford to them. Within the past two hundred years, the broad majority of all of this migration took place between the Old World and the New. As such, 65% of all migration during the 19th century is attributable to the Western World. Benefitting wildly from this influx of labor and expertise, these economies grew exponentially and allowed for the industrial development of their societies; partially on the backs of these great migrations. Issue 1: Security and the World Economy, Trade and Growth Whereas it might be understood that the economic growth and development that has taken place over the past centuries and decades can be understood as an indication that migration, no matter in what way or from what region of the world, is largely a positive for trade and economic growth, the reality of the fact is that migration oftentimes portends a host of negative economic consequences that can slowly drain the life from an economy. One of the reasons why economic growth was so rapid during the 19th century had to do with the fact that new technologies and the division of labor created a wealth of new jobs in a rapidly expanding economy (Koser 306). As a result of this, the need to fill these positions and develop the economy allowed for migration and immigration to fill the void between supply and demand. However, within the 21st century, the availability of cheap raw material and/or the rate at which the global economy is growing has slowed; and in some cases even reversed. As such, the need and requirement for a new influx of cheap labor, that is oftentimes brought by successive waves of migration, is no longer felt to the same degree or extent as it was during previous periods in history. As a function of these realities, the following section will analyze the economic security issues that migration challenges economies and nations with, the approaches that can be utilized as a function of addressing these issues/concerns, and a general outlook for what the future prospectus of this issue might be. 1.1 Economic security The reality of the impact of this migration throughout the world can only truly be understood with respect to an economic analysis. Ultimately, whether or not one travels legally or illegally, the economic impact of this migration are uniform. For instance, considering the extraordinarily high level of sophisticated technology, personnel, time, and effort that nations have directed towards stemming the tide of illegal immigration, it can immediately be noted that a primary economic cost of illegal immigration has to do with the money that expended as a means of reducing it. However, this particular understanding pales in comparison with respect to the overall amount of money that is required to be spent as a means of staffing and equipping detention centers and immigration points through which the migrants are either of entry into a given nation or refused and returned to their native countries. Sadly, even though a great deal of money is spent on equipping these detention centers and feeding those that are there, as well as housing, clothing, and speaking to whatever medical needs they may have, the conditions that are oftentimes represented within these are abysmal; to say the least. Yet, this only captures the very tip of the iceberg with respect to the overall economic impact that migration has on the economy and a national budget. Beyond the cost of patrolling the borders/seas, staffing detention centers and providing for the immediate needs of those that are there, there is the added economic burden of paying for the return trip for all those asylum seekers/illegal immigrants that are denied entry into a given host nation. Further, and most importantly, the true economic cost of this migration is felt at the point in time that migrants and/or potential asylum seekers either are approved for entry into the host nation or they successfully make it past the checkpoints and arrive illegally. As such, these individuals invariably require a litany of services that the social safety nets of developed countries are obligated to provide. These include, housing, education, medical care, and assistance in training to achieve different types of labor. With all of these requirements, it comes as little surprise that the actual per immigrant cost that a nation expends is invariably high; as compared to other nations that absorb immigrants each and every year. When one considers the fact that these migrants are oftentimes untrained, unskilled, and un-educated, the role and potential usefulness that they can provide to the economy is quite low; placing a further pressure upon the system. This creates a hardship on the nation as it creates a situation that no matter how much aid is provided or how much social safety net is assured, the possibility of the individual to achieve a high earning job and pay back into the system in terms of the overall taxes they are obligated to pay will not affect a situation in which there is a breakeven point for the investment and aid that the government has thus far provided to them. 1.2: Ways to Address Economic Security by the Host Country Thus far, the analysis has noted that the current trends of migration sustainment throughout much of the developed world are unsustainable. Ultimately, the rationale behind many of these migrants seeking to move from one place to another is predicated on the hope that they will be able to earn a better living and engage in a higher quality of life in the new location. Yet, as nations feel the economic hardships that increased migration can effect, the ability to meet the needs of these migrants and extend the seemingly ever-expanding social safety nets to these new stakeholders is something that requires one of two actions. The first is that the nation will begin to run larger and larger budget shortfalls. This particular approach is sadly one that has been instigated by many developed nations throughout the world over the past several decades; and one that has partially contributed to the abysmally slow recovery that has been noted since the financial meltdown of 2007/2008. A further alternative that exists is for the host nation to seek to raise taxes as a means of continuing to support the high costs that are represented within a society that seeks to expand and extend its social safety net and welfare programs to meet the needs of more and more stakeholders. Yet, this approach has something of a negative impact with respect to the attractiveness of the economy; both in terms of FDI and in terms of the desire of its stakeholders to want to live within such a place. As was noted earlier, the primary cause of migration throughout the world is a result of the fact that individuals necessarily seek out a higher standard of living and a better quality of life; both for themselves and for their children. But even a cursory economic analysis reveals the fact that increased rates of taxation, beyond a given point, reduces the satisfaction, potential growth, and attractiveness of a given nation for Foreign Direct Investment. As such, it is mostly understood by economists that the majority of the developed world already exhibits taxes that are near or above the level at which societal happiness or FDI could be negatively impacted. Because of this, the prospect of raising taxes as a means of continuing to provide these public goods to future and existing migrants is one that few nations are interested in; already reeling from the hardships that the global economic crisis and burgeoning levels of social welfare have effected, the desire to further increase taxes is likely to frighten what little timid investment of FDI had began to be re-established over the past several years. Moreover, the core problem with respect to increasing taxes and expanding social safety nets/welfare programs has to do with the fact that such an action would actually be an untenable path; one in which more and more migrants would likely seek to avail themselves of the welfare programs offered by developed nations alongside diminishing tax revenues as overtaxed skilled labor would migrate themselves in the hopes of creating and retaining more wealth for themselves elsewhere. As can be noted, neither of these approaches is one that a nation would willingly engage; due in part to the negative long-term impacts that they will have upon the future and the means by which the citizens of the nation can continue to expect the same quality of life that they have had to be realized for successive generations. Another approach that can be leveraged is to rely upon international assistance as a means of meeting the needs of migrants. Whereas this approach is available to most nations, those that chose to accept it invariably do so as a result of a rapid or sudden and unexpected influx of migrants into the nation itself. The rationale behind this has to do with the fact that such international assistance usually comes in the form of debt creation that will negatively impact upon the GDP and growth rate of the nation that accepts it well into the future. However, in terms of a humanitarian crisis or war on or near the border of a recipient nation, international assistance and debt creation in such a manner is one of the most rapid and reasonable means of addressing human migration. It should further be noted that there are a number of NGOs and nonprofit entities that ssek to ameliorate human suffering without incurring debts on the nation that requests their assistance (Courgeau et al. 636). Although necessarily much smaller than more international forms of human and material aid, such resources can be leveraged in smaller situations without incurring long standing debts or adversely impacting upon the future profitability of the nation in question. The Impact of Migration and Trade Throughout the Globe Migration throughout the world is without question a key component for the way in which economic development has taken place. Regardless of what side of the political spectrum an individual might fall, the truth of the matter is that the most powerful nations have benefited almost exclusively from migration as a means of providing cheap labor and poaching some of the most skilled and talented individuals from elsewhere throughout the globe. An undeniable fact concerning migration within the developed world is that it has never been constant; rather it is continually in flux. This is not merely to say that the overall number of immigrants changes from year to year but also the fact that the nation of origin for these immigrants continues to shift with the globalized nature of the world and the labor needs that the economy exhibits. Whereas migration within the earliest periods of modern history was almost exclusively from the relatively rich nations of Western Europe, this began to change as growing economies began to enter the era of industrialization and required more workers of both skilled and unskilled labor. Within the current system, a broad majority of migrant labor throughout the world hails from the following nations: India, the Philippines, the People’s Republic of China, and Mexico. The unique labor skills and professional traits of the individuals from these nations are of course too broad to generalize or stereotype for simplicities sake; however, suffice it to say that migrants from certain nations possess a broad subject matter expertise in related IT fields, whereas others are able to more appropriately speak to the services economy that continues to grow and expand within the United States. Although many factors of immigration have changed over the years, the needs that the economy generate and the extent to which immigration can seek to speak to these needs continue to be a hallmark of the way in which human migration is defined globally. 2.2 Trade and Growth Several economists point to the belief that as long as globalization continues, trade is all but guaranteed; however, as the equalizing force of migration creates situations in which cheap labor exists to a more and more frequent degree in many developed nations, there is an alternative argument that must be considered. At its core, this argument puts forward the understanding that the wage equalization that migration effects will create a situation in which large, developed economies of the globe will become more resilient upon their own natural and human resources; thereby decreasing the overall amount of trade that will be effected between low wage earning areas of the globe and high wage earning areas of the globe. Additionally, another impact on trade that has been previously referenced has to do with the pressure on available resources and budgets within a host nation. As a function of the fact that migration necessarily places a strain upon social safety nets and welfare, the overall amount of money that can be direct towards infrastructure development and/or economic development is necessarily reduced in order to funnel resources towards human services for migrants. As the study of economics represents the nature of satisfying unlimited human demands with limited resources, the pressures that migration has presents a spillover with respect to budgeting and the focus that a nation can place upon building a competitive edge towards trade (Primdah et al. 803). Yet, it must not be understood that migration is entirely negative. One may reasonable point to the seasonal labor that North Africans provide for many of the European nations or the seasonal labor that Mexicans provide for the United States and Canada to recognize the fact that migration throughout the world oftentimes allows for wealthy nations to compete with poorer nations in terms of the overall cost of goods that are sold in the market. Due to the fact that leveraging domestic labor would exponentially increase the cost of production, migratory labor is used a means of ensuring that the more industrialized/wealthier nations are able to continue to ensure their competitive advantage within the market. Although this approach only works a certain percentage of the time, and on certain commodities, it is nonetheless one that is leveraged quite often by developed nations as a means of staying competitive in sectors that they might otherwise be forced out of. Conclusion: At the current juncture, there are only two options available to nations with regard to the impacts and economics of the migration that has been described. The current path is economically untenable; especially considering the fact that the many of the developed economies throughout the globe have grown at such a sluggish rate over the past decade. Moreover, even though it is a requirement of a democratic and free society to assimilate those that wish to join such a society, the rate of assimilation cannot exceed that of the economic capacity for assimilation. In order to continue to accept these migrants from around the globe at the current rate, it will be necessary for nations to reduce their safety net; thereby negatively impacting upon all stakeholders within its society. In the event that such a tactic is not encouraged and performed, then it will be necessary for nations to cut the rate of accepted migrants and more strongly police the transit ways through which they commonly come. Works Cited. Ball, Nicole. Security and Economy in the Third World. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 2009. Print. Ciprut, Jose V. Of Fears and Foes: Security and Insecurity in an Evolving Global Political Economy. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 2011. Economic Security for a Better World. Geneva: International Labour Office, 2010. Print. Graham, David T, and Nana Poku. Migration, Globalisation, and Human Security. London: Routledge, 2000. Print. Guild, Elspeth, and Joanne . Selm. International Migration and Security: Opportunities and Challenges. London: Routledge, 2005. Print. Hassan, Munir. International Migration, Trade and Investment: Complementarity or Substitutability. , 1999. Print. Rivera, Sánchez L, and Ascencio F. Lozano. The Practice of Research on Migration and Mobilities. , 2014. Internet resource Rejda, George E. Social Insurance and Economic Security. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall, 2008. Print. Ronis, Sheila R. Economic Security: Neglected Dimension of National Security?Washington, D.C: National Defense University Press, 2011. Print. Simmons, Alan B. , International Migration, Refugee Flows and, Human Rights in North America: The Impact of Free Trade and Restructuring. New York: Center for Migration Studies, 1996. Print. Work Cited Courgeau, Daniel, Salut Muhidin, and Martin Bell. 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