Yale Lecturer Examines Immigration and Labour at UCCI Lecture

By Stuart Wilson

Renowned Yale University Professor of Economics, Mushfiq Mobarak delivered a public lecture at the Sir Vassel Johnson Hall at the University College of the Cayman Islands on 17th February, entitled: “Imported Labour: Implications for Caymanians’ Long-term Economic and Human Development.”

The lecture was part of a series of lectures to celebrate the University’s 50th anniversary.

With an audience of hundreds on hand for the discussion including members of the Cayman Islands’ Parliament, Mr. Mobarak, who is married to a Caymanian and has a first hand vantage point of the Islands’ unique situation as it relates to foreign labour and the effects on the local economy, set out the case for why he thinks immigration is important for both established and developing nations.

In doing so he used the example of how countries whose aging population is not replaced by a productive younger class of workers have benefited from immigration to prop up the chasm in productivity created by an aging population, as has been the case in America.

The antithesis of this is the scenario which took place in Japan, where the aging working class were not replaced by a vibrant immigrant community and the result was a loss of the country’s global commercial status.

Research has shown that when countries become wealthy, fewer people tend to have children and this is why immigration begins to become an important part of maintaining the jurisdiction’s productivity levels, according to the Professor.

However, he acknowledged that traditionally, when the immigrant population in America has risen to 14 percent or above, the rhetoric has historically changed to be of a nationalist tone and is somewhat discriminatory; a bias that the Professor espoused is not based in reality but more the result of human nature and the illusion that there may be a threat where none exists.

He explained that the reasoning for his conclusion in this regard was that data has shown that the majority of the work the immigrant class comprises are jobs that the nationals of the sample home countries do not desire to do.

The Professor argued that because immigrants usually fill lower skilled and somewhat menial jobs such as nannies, landscaping and security and many times for lower wages, this allows  businesses owners in Countries like Cayman the opportunity  to create more economic activity, ultimately fueling the economy.

“I chose a topic that everyone has a strong opinion on,” noted Professor Mobarak, who added that he had not met a person in Cayman who didn’t have an opinion on the topic of immigration and does not have some passionate feeling about it.

He acknowledged that his job would not be easy and noted that his job was not to tell Caymanians what their immigration policy ought to be but instead to share the data and evidence that comes out of other countries and how this might help to inform the Caymanian condition.

“You have to decide what kind of country you want and all I am here to do is provide a framework for trying to understand how we use data and evidence to guide your policy.”

In sharing the stories of the US and Japan he laid out the positives and negatives of a welcoming immigration policy such as the one in the US in the 1980s and that of a very closed scenario, as was the case in Japan during the same time period.

Professor Mobarak posited that countries like Cayman had to determine which model, or whether a hybrid comprising a more uniquely Caymanian social contract was the best way forward for the British Territory.

“I am not advocating for an open border without having a policy that is restrictive to any extent,” said Professor Mobarak, who noted that one big difference between the model of the US and Cayman was size considerations.

He added that he was aware of the situation in Cayman where immigrant persons might be in more senior roles and are then able to bring in people whom they may have a bias toward, which made the matter even more complex, as the variables in Cayman and the unique situation here are not factored in the data from more industrialised, first world nations. 

In countries such as the UAE, the immigrant population is roughly 80 percent. However, there is no prospect of those workers ever assimilating to becoming permanent residents or citizens of the UAE.

One issue that was not touched on by the Professor was that of workers who come to Cayman possibly being more savvy in some areas due to having more experience/touch points, which is vastly different from the situation in many other nations, where he surmised that immigrant or foreign workers were not usually in upfront/public facing jobs dealing with the public.

Additionally, the distinction between migrant workers and immigrant workers was not defined or explored in the Caymanian context or otherwise, (migrants are usually only passing through temporally and immigrants are usually seeking more permanent residence in a country).

In Cayman, the latter has traditionally been more true than the former.

Though the Professor did explain that among the reasons he was looking at countries apart from the Cayman Islands - other than those countries comprising the majority of the research he was familiar with - was that, ‘we could speak about the data in a more ‘dispassionate’ way.’

However, during the question and answer period, it became clear that passion was palpable in the room and some were not at ease with the messaging regarding the mostly positive spin on immigration conveyed in the lecture.

One young man explained that despite the data showing that migrants and immigrants were good for economies and productivity, this was no constellation for the reality on the ground of Caymanians having to leave their home in search of opportunities after being displaced, overlooked or marginalised.

In managing the temperature of the room and deploying a statesman level of diplomacy, Professor Mobarak accepted that everyone’s feelings were valid and that his hope that Caymanians would find a model that works for them by eventuating the positives of foreign labour and trying to mitigate the negatives.

This, he said, was a matter for successive governments, voters and society at large, taking into consideration all of the information and data that was available from the existing research.