Vibrant economies are fueled by human capital. Today, in the age of globalized economy, that much-needed human capital is composed, to some extent, of migrant labor that has come about due primarily to the phenomenon of migration. The bigger economies of the world thrive on migrant workforces.
Those who espouse anti-immigrant sentiment do not see the logic behind the benefit that migrant labor brings to the economic development of both the host countries and countries of origin. Overall, it is actually a win-win situation.
One might say that this anti-immigrant sentiment is brought about by the global economic downturn that has quite understandably created a protectionist attitude among some economies. But the ‘buy local’ principle does not necessarily require a similar ‘hire local’ campaign. To ignore the benefits of migrant labor is not exactly a wise move, especially in a global economic downturn. To begin with, migrant labor is comparatively cheaper than homegrown talent in these bigger economies.
One can champion a ‘hire local’ campaign but fact remains that migrant labor originates from poorer countries, and that these people would be more than willing to earn lower than the homegrown workforce. This is because, on a scale, that amount will still be definitely higher than what they stand to earn in their countries of origin. Thus, migrant labor in host countries is comparatively cheaper than the local workforce.
And because migrant workers almost always see the host country as greener pastures, they bring to their jobs a significant amount of dynamic aspiration, a sense of urgency, and a general atmosphere of joyful hope and fervor. At the very least, migrant labor is motivated to work more and work better, which makes it a winning situation for employers in these host countries.
Foreign human capital sends remittances back home. In some countries of origin in the Third World, migrant labor remittances keep their struggling economies afloat. In labor export economies, migrant labor’s cash remittances provide the bulk of circulated currency.
There is the sociological argument that migrant labor brings with it a host of sociological problems. These can be mitigated by utilizing sociological solutions. Still, no one can deny that migrant workers bring back to their countries a certain level of newfound knowledge and skill that they can very well transfer to their fellow countrymen.
