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 Demography, Integration & Wellfare In Sweden, low fertility rates is an alarming reality, as the general trend in more developed countries. According to Statistics Sweden (2008), an immigration net frequency of 100 000 persons per year is necessary to keep the level of welfare as in 2007, and in 2030 Sweden will have to increase that number to 300 000 new immigrants yearly for cover the loss of labour needed to maintain the "societal machinery" (the support ratio will have to increase), not at least for nursing that un-proportionally growing number of elderly people.
As many of the more developed countries, Sweden is home to plenty of people in the diaspora. Many of these are well educated, possessed with language skills and "now how's" which could be utilized starategally in business and industrial life, for domestic value as well as for trade with abroad. Sadly, discrimination remain a core obstacle against what could have been a win-win-win model. According to a country report from 2005 (CRI 2005 26) conducted by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), some minorities in Sweden are still victims of racial discrimination which affects their every day life. Of special concern ECRI highlights the Swedish labour market (employments) to be restricted to some minorities, but also their chances of doing career in the housing market and even their very access to public places. Their exclusion in any of these sectors creates a further vicious circle, thus to decrease their opportunities in all sectors and depriving them their chances to reach a decent livelihood and personal development.
The case of Sweden examplyfies a general vicious trend in many, especially, developed countries. It needs to be taken into the light that it produce not only a large group with low potentials to reach decent livelyhood with all including ingrediances. Hence, the very economical as well as social cost for society will remain high just to stabilize the consequenses. |
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 Share your opinion! How do you experience the efforts, of the country where you live, in prevention of discrimination of national and ethnic minorities?
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Brain Gain vs. Brain Waste
Competense, flexibility and knowing the surrounding world, are increasingly valuable competences of today's society - in every day life so as in business life and politics. The skills, experiences and resources of migrants in general, including extended linguistic capabilities and cultural knowing - altered from their multi-dimensional backgrounds - makes them strong elements for host countries (as for their countries of origin). But instead of being utilized by their capacity, many of them stand outside especially targeted labour markets, and even outside other important sectors important for their personal development, e.g. the housing market (career on the labour market is necessary in order to do career on the housing market). To not utilize the capacity of Diasporas and migrants in general equals not only loss of potentials - Brain Waste, but also an increasement of worries highlighted further down.
Diasporas as Trade Ambassadors
"...trade is the glue that will bind us together and the diaspora will provide strength to this bond."
/Karan Singh, India's ambassador to the US 1989-90
In particular those people born abroad - based on their deeper knowledge of business and political (and religious) culture back in their homelands - and not to mention their lingustic capabilities - their capacity can be used constructive in host countries, thus when opening up trade opportuntities for domestic companies with foreign companies - or improve already established trade corridors as well as for - in general - host countries' trade relations with abroad. In addition, their position as carriers of these cultural knowledges and linguistic capabilities from both homelands and gradually host countries can enable them to conduct trade themselves. Such a step would benefit not only trade relations between host countries and countries of origin, but could in fact also generate job opportunities.
Demography & Development
The demographic composition of a country affects its economical development. The working aged population (age 20-64) is important for maintaining the societal machinery and for nursing both the elderly population and the younger consistant of those whom gradually will join the working aged group, and so on. These age groups will have to be equally distributed for keeping the population structure sustained, although other factors - e.g. how resources are distributed, health, technology - can affect the outcome.
 Enhanced labour market participation of people in the diaspora is a solution for increasing the support ratio in countries with shortage of people in working age.
Due to weak fertility rates in many of the developed countries, the level of population above age 64 (combined with the population aged 0-19) will surpass that of the working aged population in a near future. To prevent such a gap and to reach status que the so called support rate has to increase to meet the demands of consequently ageing populations. Immigration could be one solution to fill this gap, but most importantly also by enhanced labour market participation of born abroad persons and people in the diaspora in general - whom are in fact already there and fully equiped to do so. Their fully participation on the labour market is necessary also for coping with alienation of foreigners and consequently also to lower their dependency on social welfare altered by - their in general - poor potentials on the labour market in many developed host countries.
Integration & Economy
People of national, ethnic or cultural minorities are often more vulnerable to prejudices, hostility (racism and xenophobia), and to some people's "fear of the unknown" (should we talk about ignorance?) which affects them in all sectors of many host countries. Many are discriminated on the labour market, creating a vicious circle decreasing their chances even in other sectors, such as the housing market. As a result, many become more dependant on assistance from society, and in unfair terms they become a social and economic burden for the society (at least, that is how xenophobic groups argues). Therefore, improved integration of people of the diaspora on - most importantly - the labour market is nessecary to reverse expensive societal countermeasures and loss of potentials into boosted economies where the capacity of the people in the diaspora is fully utilized. This stategy may sound basic but is however nessecary in order to reach the state where both host countries and the people in the diasporas (and in a longer perspective also countries of origin) can gain mutually.
Join the discussion!
Which are the main obstacles for host countries to utilize the capacity of people in diaspora, to achieve better lively conditions for them for the benefit of society? Develop your thoughts in the Discussion Board on the right! |
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