Social and Economic Effects of Immigration on The UK - Research Paper Example

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF IMMIGRATION ON THE UK Introduction In most developed countries and in the UK in particular immigration continues to be a hotly debated topic. It is true immigration plays a significant role in both society and the economy of many countries. In the UK immigrants comprise of at least 10 per cent of the total workforce (Dench, Hurstfield, Hill and Arkroyd, 2006). These immigrants have a great economic effect. However, as noted by analysts, this impact depends upon the level of education, skills and experience of the workers. The highly skilled workers are more likely to contribute greatly to the economy. On the other hand those who are lowly skilled or unskilled may have little or no contribution to the economy. For instance unskilled immigrants may be willing to provide cheap labour in urban areas thus improving the living standards of the rich residents (Home Office and Department of Work and Pensions, 2007). The immigrants also pay more in terms of taxes thus contributing to the economy (Coleman and Rowthorne, 2004 p.590). It can also be argued that as much as the immigrants pay taxes, most of them repatriate their earnings back home. Further, once they are employed in large scale, mostly the unskilled labour, then the local population is denied the opportunity to work. The native workers cannot compete with immigrant workers for the few job opportunities since the latter allow for little pay and willingly settle for poor terms of service. Despite this it has been argued that immigrant labour helps to change the attitude and work ethics of the local people (Lemos and Portes, 2008). The report from a number of companies point to the fact that immigrants show much willingness to work hence inspire natives to work even harder. Apart from the positive effects of immigration, foreign workers pose a number of challenges to the United Kingdom. There are those immigrants who come into the country specifically targeting public services such as education and healthcare. Due to their irregular entry into schools and language difficulties it becomes quite expensive for the institutions to cater for educational needs of immigrant children. In general however, it has been observed that there exists no major friction between immigrants and the natives. The former are not a threat to the people since they take on jobs that the natives are unwilling to do. It is important for people to work and live together in order to promote diversity and economic growth. Economic Impact of Immigration Immigration has a huge impact on the economy of most countries and the UK is not an exception. The immigrants help a great deal in doing the jobs that the natives cannot do, paying taxes, reducing the number of vacancies and generally help to boost economic growth. The economic impact however, cannot be easily quantified. Despite this difficulty in data collection and assessment still the significance of immigrant labour to the UK can still be analysed. The economy of UK has been made more competitive and vibrant with the coming of immigrant workers (Rowthorn, 2004). The labour market which had for a long period been faced by gaps benefited to some extend from these immigrants. This inclusion of immigrant workers helped greatly in the delivery of services. For instance, at the end of 2003 there were almost 700,000 vacant positions in the UK (House of Lords, 2008). These numbers were significantly reduced by the immigrants. It was important for these positions to be filled in order to ensure the businesses continued to perform without fail. Most of the British businesses therefore benefited greatly from the immigrant workers. If it were not for immigration the businesses would be forced to shrink there operations. However, there are arguments which oppose this view. According to some analysts, immigrant labour does little to reduce vacancies in the UK. Important is the fact that an economy does not have a fixed number of job vacancies. Immigration not only increases the supply but in the long term sees to an increase in demand of labour. This comes as a result of an increase in demand for goods and services. For the immigrants too have needs and just like the natives have to purchase goods and use services. In response to this demand companies are forced to create more vacancies. Therefore as much as immigration helps to expand the economy, it does little to reduce the number of vacancies (Ottaviano and Peri, 2005). Research carried out to establish the effect of immigration on GDP of UK estimated a slight increase by about 3 percent (House of Lords, 2008). This follows in the period between 1998 and 2005. However, in another research carried out during the same period indicates immigrants comprised 3.8 percent of the population. This is a suggestion that the immigration impacted negatively on the GDP per capita. The research further clarifies that the GDP estimates does not take into consideration an increase in capital but simply centre on labour supply. If these figures were to be factored in then there is a possibility to see a positive effect on the GDP per capita. In addition and analysis of the impact of A8 immigration on GDP per capita tends to show favourable results in the long run (House of Lords, 2008). In the short run immigration impacts negatively on GDP per capita. The reason for the negative impact in the short run is as a result of the increase in the levels of unemployment and the slow response of capital stock to adjust to these effects. On the other hand the positive effects in the long-term are a reflection of the higher rates of working population among immigrants and the subsequent accumulation of capital stock (Rowthorn, 2004, p. 6). In general according to a number of research findings a conclusion has been drawn to indicate that the effect of immigration on GDP is minimal. This is true whether the impact on GDP is negative or positive. Recent studies in the UK indicate a close relation between immigration and wage levels. The natives are affected positively but not so with the many workers employed in low skilled jobs (Dustmann, Fabbri and Preston, 2005). The former are able to benefit from the cheap labour provided by the immigrants. Most of the rich residents will employ immigrants to perform duties which the natives are unwilling to do. On the other hand natives eyeing low skilled jobs are negatively affected. This category of workers, have to compete with immigrants for employment opportunities. This means the wage levels would vary depending on the level of immigration; the higher the levels the lower the wages (Migration Watch UK, 2009). For instance, with a 1 percent increase in immigrants there is a corresponding 0.5 percent decrease in wages. It is also interesting to note that immigrants are highly concentrated in areas where wage levels are low. This has an adverse effect on wages especially with the low-skilled workers. However, even as immigrants are not necessarily competing with natives for similar jobs still they indirectly affect wage levels (Home Office and Department of Work and Pensions, 2007). Those affected mostly with wage reduction as a result of immigration are said to be previous immigrants. Most of these immigrants who have become British citizens are concentrated on sectors that attract new immigrants. For instance the Slough Council noted the complaints of Pakistani community whose jobs are insecure as a result of an influx of Polish immigrants. The new Polish community showing up in the UK does not only comprise of highly skilled labourers but also willing to work for lower wages (McLaughlan and Salt J, 2002). If it were not for Low Pay Commission the wages would continue to deteriorate. This commission has been instrumental in trying to shield the low-skilled workers from the effects of immigration. It has been observed that despite booming economies in the UK and Ireland there has been a slow growth in wages. Similarly, the employment of UK workers seems to be affected negatively by immigration. For instance there was a decline in the employment of young UK born workers between early 2005 and late 2008 (Migration Watch UK, 2009). The period saw to a sharp decline of approximately 230,000 in employment of natives whereas the foreign born recoded as increase of about 1 million in employment in the same period (Migration Watch UK, 2009). There is lack of clear evidence on the relation between immigration and unemployment. This is however, not to mean that there is no relation whatsoever. An early indication suggests that immigration increases unemployment though minimally in the short run (Salt and Millar, 2006). In the long run there are not effects at all. Research tends to suggest that the youth are the most affected by this immigration. Youth unemployment has been increasing since 2004 with a slight percentage drop of those who participate in work. The native youth seem to lose the battle to the young new immigrants. The former simply lack the motivation and the “push factor” that drive the immigrants into getting the jobs. It is also likely that immigration reduces significantly on the rate of unemployment. This can only be guaranteed if the labour being supplied by immigrants is flexible, elastic, highly motivated and reliable. However, in the long run once the immigrants become like the local population then the effect is likely to reduce (Sriskandarajah, Cooley and Reed, 2005). Similarly, inflationary pressure can be tamed by immigration. This is true considering that the potential supply is increased compared to demand. Without the immigrants it is likely that locals may decide to cut on their consumption in a bid to reduce levels of unemployment. Furthermore, most of the immigrants spend less in the UK. Firms on the other hand can easily see to a reduction in investment by substituting part of labour for capital. The length of stay in the country by the immigrants greatly influences the levels of inflation. For instance if most of the immigrants have the aspiration of returning to their countries in the near future, majority save much of their earnings (Glover, Gott, Loizillon, Portes, Price, Spencer, Srinivasan and Willis, 2001). In this way immigrants greatly influence the supply as opposed to demand. It is therefore significant that in the short run immigration helps in easing out inflation in the economy. However, even as immigration has a great impact on the economy mostly in the short run; it is important for the economy to make quick adjustments to the effects of immigration. There is eminent danger that immigration might discourage investment in training of local workers by British employers. This is especially so with jobs such as construction and other low skilled jobs. In this sector there are many immigrants who are more than willing to take the jobs. When compared to natives, immigrants require little training and are likely to stay longer in the job. It is for this reason that a sharp decline in incentives has been witnessed in some of these sectors (Migration Watch UK, 2008). According to experts there is a possibility for employers in construction industry to employ only immigrant labour. This is true even with the preparation of the upcoming London Olympics in 2012 (Dench, Hurstfield, Hill, Arkroyd, 2006). It is becoming evident that though youngsters are showing interest in the construction industry, there is less vacancy available. The employers in these sectors are said to rely so much on agencies for their recruitment. These agencies on the other hand have their primary target on immigrant labour. The availability of skilled and experienced migrant workers seems to make it much easier for construction companies (Lemos and Portes, 2008). Most of these companies are reluctant to train personnel who may end up being poached. This is not only limited to construction industry but other sectors too are affected by immigrant labour. In the medical profession for instance, young UK doctors seem to be discouraged by the continued recruitment of immigrants in training roles. This has the potential to discourage UK nationals from pursuing careers in the medical field. A career in medicine which had been for a long time the dream of many youngsters suddenly becomes less attractive. The increase in immigration of doctors in the UK, and swelling of UK-born doctors has seen to an oversupply of physicians. It is therefore becoming a trend for more doctors to expand, change career or advance their studies. Majority of the immigrants are of working age meaning that they benefit less from State services such as healthcare, pension, education etc. On the contrary they pay more in taxes which has boosted economic growth. This advantage however seem to be in the short run since immigrants tend to have large families thus resulting to high public expenditure in the long run (Ottaviano and Peri, 2005). Similarly, since most of the immigrants intend to stay in the UK till they age, it is expected to translate to more public expenditure in the future. In the meantime increased number of immigration helps in addressing the problem of small workforce. It has been estimated for instance that in the coming 40 or so years the number of workers meant to support pensioners is likely to shrink exceedingly. For this reason, there is need to expand the workforce in order to effectively support the growing number of pensioners. There has been great advantage brought about by immigrants in the UK businesses. This is regarding working practices which have changed for the better (Sriskandarajah, Cooley and Reed, 2005). The employees more so those from Eastern Europe are not only conscientious but very industrious. Their attitude towards work is great and deemed essential for successes in business. Sainsburys Chain Supermarket is one of the first to note these differences. According to the supermarket foreign workers are highly motivated and perform far much better than domestic staff. Due to the rewards of hard work, few complaints and dedication most of the immigrant workers become favourite employees. It is even a double benefit since they are not only efficient and hard working but offer cheap labour compared to domestic staff. Important is the fact that same work ethics may infiltrate to domestic colleagues. It is known for instance though the debate still ranges on, that there is increased pressure on public services. The ever changing and growing population in Slough and Peterborough for instance has increased pressure on service delivery. It is however, difficult to distinguish whether or not this pressure if directly linked to immigration. This is especially so when one considers that immigrants normally foregone the consumption of public service (Salt and Millar, 2006). Already, public service is strained and research tends to indicate that immigrant workers. Similarly, the majority of the immigrants contribute to the public coffers hence can be said to have paid for the services. Due to there presence and contribution, the delivery of public service becomes less costly. Apart from filling the gaps in the labour market, there are immigrant entrepreneurs who create jobs for the local population. The entrepreneurs are keen to meet the demands and requirements for establishing business in the UK (Trade Union Congress, 2007). It also goes without mentioning that the working age-population continues to shrink. The urgent need to get replacement cannot be realized if it was not for the immigrant labour. Social Impact of Immigration As much as immigrant labour has made important contributions to the economy of the UK, there are concerns over social cohesion. There has been much pressure created in housing markets, labour and welfare. These pressures have contributed greatly to transformation of both society and economy. Social and economic opportunities have been realized with the new immigration but at the same time it has contributed to structural deprivation and also lack of work among the population (Migration Watch UK, 2005). There is much exploitation of immigrant workers most of who are new arrivals in the UK. The majority are ignorant of the rights as workers thus willingly accept poor pay and conditions of service. This exploitation is even more predominant among the casual labourers most of whom face language barrier and lack appropriate skills. There are those who are forced to work for many hours either willingly or due to exploitation. As much as these impacts negatively on the worker, it has to a great extent helped change the attitude towards work of the local people. In only a short time span the UK has experienced changes in both family and work dynamics. For instance there has been a trend whereby smaller families are favoured and people are becoming more independent by living alone (Hickman, Crowley and Mai, 2008). Again, the attitude towards work has changed greatly. This is because people tend to spend more time at work such that association with friends and family is limited. To a greater extend family values have been threatened as people are pressurized with consumer culture and work demands. And even more importantly is parental authority which continues to wane with time. Children are find more time on their own and are left to decide on what do to. Similarly, relationships and wider social activities have been greatly compromised as the people devote much time on work and family. It is common for instance for people to carry office work to their homes. Here they are required to assist their children with homework, attend to domestic chores and in some cases study for higher degrees. This has become a routine such that workers are very little time for other recreational or relationships outside family study and or work (Hickman, Crowley and Mai, 2008). Housing continues to be a contentious issue in the UK and it is much pronounced in the recent past more than ever. The long-term residents for instance envy the way authority responds to new arrivals more so asylum seekers (Hickman, Crowley and Mai, 2008). These ones are more privileged in the sense that more incentives are allowed to them in housing. Instead of channelling their criticism to the housing sector, these people have found reason to be discontent with immigrants (Robinson and Reeve, 2006). This problem would be addressed appropriately only if the social agencies addressed both cases without partiality. This means that both residents and new immigrants will be provided with housing. The demand for housing has been on an upward increase due to preference of most UK-born people to live alone. It can also be pointed out that due to the increase in demand of houses the prices have sowed. However, even as immigration contributes almost a third of the growth in household growth still little reference is made to immigrants. It is true the demand in housing among immigrants is less compared to the local people. This comes since immigrants in order to maximize profits share housing hence do not feel the pressure on high rents (Migration Watch UK, 2008). Similarly, the majority prefer low quality houses which are cheap. It is quite obvious that if it were not for the immigrants most the low quality houses would reduce in prices. Alternatively the landlords would be forced to upgrade them. However with the influx of immigrants the demand of these houses continues to be high despite low quality. In fact there are immigrants who choose to settle on poor quality houses once occupied by students. The landlords of these houses continue to benefit courtesy of the immigrants. It is important for new immigrants to share similar characteristics with the rest of the community in order to have meaningful co-existence (Robinson and Reeve, 2006). Once immigrants settle in areas where they exhibit different aspirations and values friction arises. The way the people perceive reality is important for the realization of social cohesion. The way local residents perceive educational achievement is greatly influenced by age, class, gender and ethnicity. In some of these sections of the country where education is given little or no significance, immigrants with educational aspirations disrupt cohesion in society. This is not only in schools where this disparity is clearly noticed but the community as a whole. In some countries one has to pay for education yet the same is offered freely in the UK. In this case immigrants are more than willing to take advantage of the free education but do not seem to go well with some residents. Children of immigrant workers are also a burden to the schools. This is especially so with language demands for new arrivals which pose as a challenge to the majority schools (Hope, 2008). Despite the free education awarded to the immigrants still there are extra expenses that the schools have to incur. Resources such as translation services, bilingual dictionaries have to be availed to cater for this group of students (Hickman, Crowley and Mai, 2008). Apart from language difficulties schools also experience problems with assessing students’ quality. The majority arrive with no prior records hence becoming difficult to incorporate them in the mainstream classes. In order to salvage the situation Slough Council had to expend more by setting up a centre to address the problem. Also, there are students who arrive after commencement of the school year. Their admission is not only costly to the school administration but has proved to be time consuming In some cases the new arrivals could easily be integrated in the community, ensure diversity at the schools and help boost educational performance (Robinson and Reeve, 2006). Local organizations and schools in general became instrumental in the diffusion of tensions that may arise in the community. It is important to note that as much as immigrants are considered a threat in deprived areas, they can also provide opportunities. The opportunities are directly influenced by the response that long term residents receive with the arrival of the new groups. Inequalities between the two groups increased social tension whereas support and better treatment of the residents improve relations. For the last a half dozen years it has been found that new immigrants contributed significantly to the population growth rate. Since the rate of immigrants continues to swell it has greatly increased pressure of social amenities and facilities more so hospitals and schools (Hope, 2008). Some of the immigrants are said to target free education and health care. The latter popularly referred to as “health tourist” come specifically for this service. The majority actually head straight for basic treatment in various hospital departments without due registration with their respective local GP (Hope, 2008). Again, in some parts of the country concerns have been raised over this influx. Communities which are hardest hit had not been accustomed with such a massive number of foreigners. Nevertheless, there are some cities and towns such as Newcastle which tend to be in want of immigrants. Immigrants also contribute greatly to the population growth in the UK. This increase in population is not only brought about by migration of young people but more children are born of foreign mothers. It has been a concern of authorities that the contributing factors behind the increase in population are the youthful age of most of the immigrants and an increase in levels of immigration. Estimates by the population trend release seem to indicate that by 2031 the population will have risen by 6.1 million people (Migration Watch UK, 2005). This is with a projection of 130,000 persons immigrating into the country annually. Of the total about 84 percent come as a result of net migration, and approximately 1.5 million result from more births over death from the migrant population (Migration Watch UK, 2005). The increase in the number of immigrants in the UK has also been perceived as a contributing factor to the rising rates of crime. According to a chief constable offences such as drink-driving and knife crime are typical of immigrant population (Attewill, 2007). Though the figures have declined ever since, drink-driving among foreign nations between 2003 and 2004 was reported to have increased from 57 to 966 (Attewill, 2007). These figures are quite lower compared to those of natives. Further, immigrants are noted to have taken crime to a new level. It even goes without mentioning the assortment of crimes that are carried out by the immigrants. This ranges from gun offences, prostitution, kidnapping and drug dealing (Ahmed, 2003). The officers also complain of difficulties when handling immigrant offenders due to language difficulties. The process takes three times longer than it would have been with a native. Moreover, the rate of growth in prison population among foreign offenders is higher compared to natives. There are many reasons for this difference. Apart from the fact that these immigrants must be behaving in a similar manner they used to do at home, most of them are ignorant of the law. It has been reported that some immigrants always carry knives with them in what is perceived as personal protection (Johnson, 2008). The police are concerned that immigrants need to be educated on the laws and culture of the British people. They should not assume and continue to practice what they used to do in their home countries. As much as there are massive immigrants from other parts of Europe; it has done little to destabilize community cohesion. These immigrants are perceived to contribute greatly to development of many towns culturally, economically and socially (Gilpin, Henty, Lemos, Portes and Bullen, 2006). According to a report by the Commission of Integration and Cohesion most people agree to the cohesiveness of the community despite continued immigration. This is true considering the huge single wave immigration from Eastern Europe of which the public responded with little violence or hostility. In areas with poor community cohesion anti-social behaviour, deprivation and unemployment are said to be contributing factors. Community cohesion is therefore not universal but tends to differ across the country. This variation is brought about by an inter-relation among some of these factors. Conclusion Immigration has become a common trend in the 21 century as people are looking for areas where they are better suited to work and live. In the UK the trend has been growing and this has led to debates on whether or not immigrants are useful to the country. Research into the effects of immigrants on the society and economy of UK are far between, however there are some agreement on a number of issues. In the United Kingdom immigrants have contributed positively to the growth of economy. The influx of immigrants has helped to reduce on the number of vacancies in the country and at the same time changed work ethics among the UK born workers. The positive attitude towards work brought about by competition from foreign workers has helped boost profitability of the businesses. Similarly, an increase in demand resulting from more immigrants has led to expansion of the economy. To some greater most experts agree immigrants have led to loss of jobs among the low skilled natives and also reduction in wages. Most of the new immigrants are highly skilled and are willing to offer their services at low wages. However, it appears as though the UK- born workers are not much affected by these trends. Research indicates that the majority of the people working in the low skilled jobs are in fact earlier immigrants. These ones have stayed in the country for long and ended up getting citizenship. The immigrants also contribute a great deal to the economy in form of taxes. The majority who are of working age benefit less from public services hence are perceived as assets. However, this is only in the short run as most of them end up having huge families. There children require education and healthcare which has proved expensive to the government. Further once they age, still the government has a responsibility of caring for them. In addition there is a problem of housing which contributes to tension between new immigrants and those who settled before them. This is simply a problem coming as a result of the government showing partiality in dealing with the immigrants. Once the government addresses the issues raised then there is guaranteed cohesion in the society. References Ahmed K, 2003, Immigrants behind crime wave- police. Retrieved on 11 May 2010 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/may/18/immigration.ukcrime Attewill, F, 2007, Increased immigration boosts knife crime and drink-driving, police chief says. Retrieved on 11 May 2010 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/sep/19/immigration.immigrationandpublicservices Coats D, 2008, Migration myths: Employment, wages and labour market performance. The Work Foundation. Coleman D & Rowthorne R, 2004, The economic effects of immigration into the United Kingdom. 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