Abstract
Immigration refers to the movement of people from one area to another mainly in search of greener pastures such as employment and investment opportunities. America as is known is a country that is made up of different communities and cultures. More than 80 percent of America’s population comprises of immigrants from different parts of the world with a small portion of the population being representative of the indigenous communities.
Immigration to America is said to have had very serious consequences both positive and negative and especially on the economy of the country. This discussion will look at the various ways in which immigration has had an effect on the economy of America. Further, this discussion will also look at the economics of Mexico focusing on the growth of the Mexican economy.
Background Information
Since time immemorial, immigration to America has remained a common phenomenon and with time, the number of immigrants keeps rising. Some of them have entered the soil of America legally while others are illegal immigrants but the bottom line is that the number keeps going up by the day.
The immigrants have affected the economy of America in both positive and negative ways. On one hand, the immigrants have provided the very much needed labor thereby helping the economy expand since the source of labor is not imported (Conrad 98). Secondly, the taxes they pay as well as the consumer goods they use help in generating income for the federal government and this has helped the country’s economy remain top and stable among competing world economies such as that of China, India, Brazil and the United Kingdom.
Impacts of Immigrants
Positive Impacts
One of the issues that has been brought about in regards to the immigrants who come to America is the fact that compared to the citizens of this country; they tend to pay an amount less in terms of taxes to the federal government (Kposowa 98).
This has been said to affect the economy of the country negative considering that the immigrant population in America forms the greater percentage of the entire population. In addition, the average immigrant in America receives more in terms of social services than an American citizen. These are some of the issues of contention that many and especially American citizens have.
The beneficial impact of immigrants coming to America is the fact that they have provided labor especially in industries and construction sectors and this has seen the government reduce considerably the amount of money they would have spent on imported labor (Kposowa 98). As a result, companies have expanded and this has been a big plus for the economy of the country.
Negative Impacts
One issue however that has been brought out by those who are opposed to have immigrants in America is that these people have literally taken over the position of the American citizens. It is argued that the jobs held by the immigrants rightly belong to the American citizens and therefore the immigrants have sort of hijacked all that which belongs to the citizens if America.
The opponents therefore argue that industries should give more in terms of payment to the American workers thereby eliminating the need to have people from foreign countries providing labor. However, this argument is not practical because if companies were to pay more than they are already paying to the America workers, most of the companies would not remain in business as the cost of operation would be way higher than the amounts of profits they would realize(Kposowa 98)..
Analysis
Instead of speculating on whether immigrants are beneficial to the American economy or not, maybe it would be better to take another perspective to the whole issue and ask ourselves what is likely to happen of people no longer moved to America or the current bunch of immigrants in America were to leave the country.
If this were to happen, it is argued that this would be very disastrous to one of the giant economies of the world and the economy would not only be affected so drastically but also the ripple effects would be felt in many parts of the world.
This is because America would have to pay more for provision of labor and this would increase the cost of production thereby reducing the profits realized. We can therefore argue while immigration in America may have negative impacts on the economy, there are positive impacts as well and the economy may not thrive as well without the immigrants.
Economics of Mexico
According to the World Bank, the economy of Mexico is middle in terms of ranking meaning that it is not too neither too rich. However, the rates of poverty in this country are somewhat widely spread out with an estimated 44 percent of the populating living below the standard poverty line. The economy of this country was hardest hit in the year 2009 when it experienced its worst recession which could only be compared to the 1930 recession which had affected almost the entire world.
In the year 2009, the country was not able considerable exports to America who is the main consumer of Mexican products while revenues from oil equally declined. Tourism which is yet another major generation of income was slapped a major blow when there was an out break of H1N1 influenza leading to a travel ban to and from Mexico.
Trade Regime
The trade regime of Mexico is based on free trade between Canada, the United States of America, member states of European countries and many other countries bringing the total number of countries to 44. The Mexicans living in the diasporas and especially in the United States of America send remittances to their mother country and these remittances have contributed to the growth of the country’s economy. These remittances are said to contribute largely to source of foreign currency in Mexico coming a close second after oil.
Trade
In terms of trade, Mexico is ranked second in terms of export and third in terms of trading partner. The biggest exporter of products from Mexico is the United States of America with the exports ranging from electronics, spare parts of a motor vehicle and chemicals (Lustig 55).
In terms of agriculture, it is only a small portion of the land that is arable. However, even with the limited portion with which to carry out agriculture, Mexico still manages to produce sugarcane, avocadoes, tomatoes, corn and beans. Dairy products, beef, pork and poultry are also produced in Mexico though in very limited quantities. Due to globalization, Mexico is now gaining more in terms of agriculture more than they were in the past and this has continued to contribute in terms of economic growth.
Investment from Foreign Countries
Mexico has also created a conducive environment for foreign investors to invest in the country and this has been a major boost to the economy of this country. America just as she is the main exporter of Mexican products is also the biggest investor in this country. The recession which hit the American economy really hard in the year 2008 also had an effect on Mexican economy, as America could not invest as much as was the case in the previous years (Lustig 14).
Production of Gas and Oil
Mexico was ranked among the top producers of crude oil in the world. Due to high volumes that this country produces, more than a third of the revenues generated to the government comes from this sector. It is actually one of the pillars of the Mexican economy.
Conclusion
The success or failure of the economy of any given country is highly dependent on many factors. Therefore, having a strong economy and being able to sustain the status quo is not always an easy assignment for any government. Looking at the manner in which both the initiated States of America as well as Mexico have managed to remain up despite turbulent times in the world goes a long way to show, there are multiple issues and factors that always come into play when it comes to matters economy.
One thing is for sure though that every country should to the best of their ability make maximum use of the available resources in the country as most of the resources form the backbone of growing and a successful economy.
Works Cited
Conrad, Cecilia. African Americans in the U.S. Economy. London: Rowmann & Littelefield, 2005. Print
Kposowa, Augustine. The impact of immigration on the United States economy. Michigan: University of America Press, 2008. Print
Lustig, Nora. Mexico: The Remaking of an Economy. New York: The Brookings Institution, 1992. Print