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Immigration
Millions of individuals leave their countries of birth annually to settle in other
countries for various reasons. Some abandon their countries in search of better employment
terms while others flee from calamities such as war and famine. Whatever the reason for
leaving their homelands, immigrants have both negative and positive impacts on the local
communities. One of the effects of immigration on society is that it leads to economic
growth. Legal immigrants provide cheap labor to the local industries, thereby increasing the
volume of output (Hirschman).
The immigrants can also help in bridging the skills gap in a country, thereby enabling
local manufacturers to produce quality products. Additionally, immigrants also increase the
amount of annual tax collected by the local government (Hirschman). These taxes can be
used to finance development projects such as infrastructure maintenance and public health
expenditure. Immigrants also increase the market for locally manufactured products; hence
promote the growth of the local industries (Hirschman).
The downside of immigration is its impact on the local labor force. As mentioned
earlier, immigrants are a source of cheap labor since they are usually willing to take up any
job to support their families. As a result, the local companies that want to cut on labor costs
may opt for immigrant employees instead of the more expensive indigenous workforce
(Hirschman). Also, the immigrants increase the number of people looking for a job, and this
may have adverse effects on the wage rates (Borjas 5). According to Borjas, wage rates
