The following is a precis of an article in today's Financial Times:
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LET THE HUDDLED MASSES GO FREE
Samuel Brittan
In order to convince those with an unthinking prejudice against
globalisation, a dramatic gesture is needed which would demonstrate that
the free movement of capital and labour is of benefit to the world's poor.
There was more economic freedom a century ago than today, particularly as
regards migration policy. Many countries allowed free movement of labour,
both inwards and outwards. Today, migration is tightly controlled and has
become a focus of illegality and criminal violence.
Political asylum seekers in the UK are provided with money vouchers at
levels below normal social benefits and are not permitted to work for six
months. The distinction between them and economic migrants, at present
illegal, should be done away with. All should be allowed to seek their
fortune in any country of choice.
Like other forms of economic liberalisation, this would increase the world
national income and particularly benefit people in the poorer countries.
The best results could be obtained if all developed countries adopted this
policy, countries could do this unilaterally.
The leading candidate in Europe for such a policy in Ireland (two
inhabitants per sq. km.) which needs the safety vlave of immigrant labour
for a potentially overheated economy. Even the UK (242 inhabitants per sq.
km) has a lower density than Holland (385) or Belgium (335), countries with
a high quality of life. A common European Union policy for liberalising
immigration is unlikely, given the extreme hostility which exists in
countries such as Germany and Italy.
Some economists might argue that the wages of indigenous workers might be
depressed by competition from immigrants. However, a recent research study
("Migration: An Economic and Social Analysis"; the Home Office) shows that
native wages have not been depressed in the UK in the past few years.
Immigrants in the UK have tended to perform three types of jobs:
(a) public service, especially health, where government determined pay is
already well below market levels (in London 23% of doctors and 47% of
nurses are foreign-born);
(b) insecure, low-paid jobs (as in catering or cleaning) which natives are
unwilling to take and which otherwise be unfilled;
(c) highly-skilled IT workers. These have enabled the IT sector to grow
faster than it would otjherwise rather than depress wages.
The Home Office study confirms the belief that migrants are more polarised
than the rest of the population with higher concentrations of the rich and
the poor, and also of the highly skilled and the very low-skilled. People
in between tend not to migrate. Also, migrants have higher levels of
entrepreneurship than the norm.
Generally, earning of immigrants, age for age, start lower than the natives
but then rise above them as skills are acquired. Contrary to the popular
view that immigrants are a burden on the public purse, they contribute 10%
more to government revenues than they receive in benefits.
About 400,000 people a year arrive legally in the UK with the intention of
staying a year or more, but some estimates suggest that another 200,000
arrive illegally. The net effect of the present strict official restriction
of immigration leads to nighmarish conditions for illegal immigrants who
then depend on criminal gangs for transport and, aftert arrival, to slavery
and child labour.
Some opponents of free migration are afraid that it would lead to massive
floods of people entering the country. For example, 25% of Slovak citizens
*say* they would like to migrate to England. But would they in practice?
The evidence so far is that only a minority of a poor country's population
actually make the leap of migrating. We need a period of laissez faire for
five years to test and review the matter.
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Keith Hudson, General Editor, Calus <http://www.calus.org>
6 Upper Camden Place, Bath BA1 5HX, England
Tel: +44 1225 312622; Fax: +44 1225 447727;
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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