Such issues as immigration have long-been debated by economists and policy-makers. In popular opinion, this phenomenon is often associated with job insecurity and increased expenses on social security. However, one should take into account that legal immigrants can pay the same taxes and insurance fees and they do not always impose a burden on the government. The dangers of immigration are more related to those people who stay in the country without any legal permission and right to work.
Additionally, legal immigration can give a brain gain to the country. In other words, it creates a situation when many highly-skilled people want to work in local companies or institutions. Such brain gain is extremely important for many areas such as industry, healthcare, education, technological innovation, and so forth. It can give the country a real competitive advantage over other states. Moreover, such an inflow of skilled workers can make the domestic labor market more competitive. Thus, from an employers’ point of view legal immigration is a positive force.
Only by restricting emigration, the government will not be able to improve the well-being of the population. In this case, the most appropriate strategy is to make admission rules more selective. The government should give preference to those very qualified workers who are likely to be employed by local companies and eventually become tax-payers. Such an approach can minimize the threat for local workers, especially those who do low-skilled jobs.
Furthermore, by adopting this strategy policy-makers will ensure that these people revitalize the economic life of the country. However, this task requires thorough research on the labor market in the country. This issue is of great importance to those administrators who will set immigration quotas. To a great extent, this argument is based on the classical economic theory of supply, demand, and equilibrium. The major task of the government is to find this equilibrium. Overall, legal immigration can be beneficial for the state; yet, this process must be closely monitored.