Emigration of Argentina

Since the beginning of time, man has been on the move searching for new places, better opportunities and easier living surroundings and since then immigration has been a powerful force globally. The decision to migrate is influenced by differentials that can be economically related such as employment or earnings; politically related such as freedom of religious expression; or socially related such as location of family. “In 2010, some 214 million people — 3 per cent of the world's population — lived outside their country of origin” (www.unfpa.org). Until recently, Argentina has been mainly distinguished as a country of immigration. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Argentina was a country of opportunity and a net importer of people and capital; but immigration led to diminishing economic prospects and volatile politics, which prompted the emigration of Argentineans today. The emigration of Argentineans hurts the country economically and socially.

In the early 19th century, Argentina gained independence from Spain and adopted an open immigration policy to encourage immigration. The government even subsidized immigrant boat passages to promote migration. Between 1870 and 1930 Argentina experienced a huge wave of immigration, receiving over seven million immigrants, with the majority of the immigrants coming from Spain and Italy. The minority immigrants were from France, Germany, Britain and Ireland. Europe was facing severe economic conditions during this time and the charm of an under populated country rich in natural resources and employment possibilities drew people to Argentina. Most of the immigrants were drawn to Buenos Aires and they came from poor classes of society and many of them worked as laborers. Many of these migrants returned back to their native country because of the slow industrial development in Argentina and the economic and political improvement of Europe after World War II. In the 1930s, the immigration policies of Argentina became more preventive due to unstable economic conditions and to the military dictatorships (www.migrationinformation.org). These oppressive economic and political conditions led to the emigration of many Argentinean natives.

These stifling economic and political conditions gave rise to Argentina's first significant emigration outflow of native-born citizens, especially of the highly-skilled, in the late 1960s and 1970s.

An estimated 185,000 Argentines emigrated between 1960 and 1970, and the number climbed to an estimated 200,000 in the decade that followed. Primary destinations of the highly skilled included the United States and Spain, although other Western European countries and Mexico and Venezuela were also destinations.

The low point for net migration coincided with the most recent military dictatorship (1976-1983), during which it is estimated over 300,000 people — predominantly intellectuals, students, and minorities — "disappeared." Although some emigrants returned after the fall of the authoritarian regime in 1983, many Argentines remained abroad and were, for the most part, integrated in their host societies.

Emigration diminishes the supply of human capital. The loss of natives leads to the brain drain of the country. Many of the emigrants from Argentina are those who are highly educated and are skilled workers. The loss of these people means that the country of origin is less attractive because they are looking to support their needs elsewhere. When the highly skilled people migrate, there is a scarcity of highly skilled remaining with the capability to build up and develop the country. The emigrants also take physical capital with them when they leave which hurts the economy. It is argued that remittances from the highly skilled emigrants can replenish human capital but many of the emigrants are not sending money back to their native country. Also Argentina does not calculate total remittances received from abroad so there’s no way of telling how much really helps supply the capital of the country. The loss of workers also means a loss in the social gains for the country. The worker’s effect on society – higher skills, wages, and tax revenues, lower infant mortality, lower fertility rates, better voter awareness etc. are affected because there are fewer workers to contribute.

Emigration lowers the supply of labor and raises consumer prices. . The workers are leaving their jobs and that leads to more jobs being unfilled. It costs the company more money to fill these positions to unskilled workers because they have to spend money to train the workers. The money spent will then cause an increase in consumer prices to it balance out. “Since labor is more scarce as a result of emigration, wages rise. Producers face higher costs as a result of the higher wages”(Asch, 32). The higher costs that the producers face causes them to increase prices for goods, so that they may pass their costs onto the consumers.

“In 1990, unemployment reached approximately 16%, an unprecedented level for Argentina” (Ilo.org).

Emigration leads to an increase in consumer prices due to the increase in wages for the substitutes of emigrant workers.

Lower employment

Emigration creates a collective feeling of discouragement about the possibilities of development in Argentina. The image of thriving emigrants strengthens the perception that the promising future is one that lies outside of the country. This causes more natives to want to leave the country and abandon their homeland for a better future elsewhere. They don’t feel the need to better their country when a brighter future can be achieved somewhere else.

Works Cited
"Latest Publications." Migration: A World on the Move: Population & Development : UNFPA. United Nations Population Fund, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
Nica, Elvira. "The causal impact of brain drain migration on economic development." Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice 5.1 (2013): 94+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.
Valez, Wanda. "90.01.06: South American Immigration: Argentina." 90.01.06: South American Immigration: Argentina. Yale.edu, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.
Pellegrino, Adela. "Skilled Labour Migration from Developing Countries: Study on Argentina and Uruguay." Ilo.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.
Asch, Beth J. "Emigration and Its Effects on the Sending Country." Center for Research on Immigration Policy. Monograph Reports, n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.