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Analysis
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from NewsLink, Vol. 8, No. 2 - Winter 2004
For a variety of economic and cultural reasons, liberal immigration policies are controversial. Nonetheless, immigration into richer nations will continue because of the demand for unskilled labor and the need to fund social security systems. And as long as wages and job opportunities are much better in rich than poor countries, there will be a powerful incentive for people from poor countries to try to move to the lands of opportunity.
The United States admitted more than 1 million legal immigrants annually during 2001 and 2002, a 25 percent increase over 2000. The European Union also attracts a sizeable number of immigrants. Immigration has continued, and in some cases even increased, despite a national recession (U.S) and persistently high unemployment in several of the host nations (E.U.).
Continued vigorous immigration, welcome or not, shows no sign of abating given that integrated economies depend on the kind of flexible labor forces that immigration provides. Nations with high net immigration rates such as the U.S., Ireland (in recent years) and the United Kingdom have been able to absorb more immigrants while growing their economies. Every year the U.S. accepts over 3,500 immigrants per million inhabitants. The comparable rate for France is below 700.
In every country in Western Europe, the fertility rate is below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. Without immigration, the population of these countries will begin to shrink in the foreseeable future. Immigration holds out the prospect of allowing countries to maintain their populations and ensure continued economic stability. Italy has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world and a pension system in trouble but it may be able to depend more on immigration to replace older workers and fund its social welfare obligations. The U.S. growth in population, along with immigration, can replace the population needed to meet the demands for labor and sustain social security in its current form. (This analysis excludes one EU member state: Luxemborg.)
Upated on 01-Mar-2004 13:59
