Economics, Immigration & Mexico

This research paper explores the various expansive fields of economics, immigration and the Latin nation of Mexico in their various relations to the United States of America. For instance this research paper gives description of what immigration is, its effects and certain policies that govern it in the US. We will see how immigration has helped shape different aspects of the American nation. As for Mexico, an in depth analysis of its location, size, organizational structure, cultural composition, religious affiliations and economic systems have been defined and in some instances comparisons have been made to other nations. Economics is a large topic which has been discussed under its major classes and an overview of the economy of the US described. Major terms occasionally used in economics have also been defined to ease the understanding of this wide subject.

Immigration

            This is the first part of this research paper that in many various ways helps us to understand how the Immigration systems in America. Immigration is the movement and settlement of persons in a different country for purposes of working and in the recent years to seek education. In the United States for instance, immigration has been witnessed in large numbers as different nationals increasingly settle in the country from time immemorial. These systems can be traced to have taken effect from the independence times when colonialists settled in the US.  The slavery period also defined the immigration process to America. Various reasons have been described to explain this movement leading to formation of various classes of immigrants. These classes could be discussed under: Family-Based Immigrants. The immigration policy was importantly based on the ideology of family unification. This category makes provisions for the citizens of U.S. and lawful permanent residents to ferry certain members of the family to the American country. These Family-based immigrants are generally adapted to the United States as close relatives of the citizens of American citizens or through the system of family preference.

            The availability of visas for such persons has no limits but certain age and financial requirements must be met. Such close relatives include U.S. citizens’ spouses, minor children of U.S. citizens mostly under 21 years of age who are always unmarried and their parents. For the family preference system there exists a limited number of visas whose attainment by the petitioners must come as a result of having met specific financial and age provisions like being siblings to the petitioners. Another group is the Employment Based Immigrants. These are immigrants who come to the US on job related purposes. They could be diplomatic in nature or just ordinary. One bit worth noticing though is the fact that they always posses in them valuable skills which are beneficial to the American economy in particular. This has been documented as a leading cause of brain drain in their countries of origin.  Refugees and Asylum seekers and for Humanitarian Relief purposes. A new trend is emerging of people of different ages and race coming to further their education. Immigration could either be legal or illegal. The illegal process is a very dangerous process that has very deadly consequences.

Benefits of immigration to the United States of America

            Increased workforce: Most immigrants who come into the US always on employment related issues always bring along with them different skills that in one way ort he other improve the economy. They are advantageous in the sense that they at times can always do jobs that though important in the economy building, are no done by the citizens of America.

Improved the economy of the United States:

             Most immigrants contribute to the overall economy through the payment of taxes that increase the total revenue of the country. Apart from that, most immigrants provide cheap labor that helps improve the overall economic welfare of the country. States like Michigan have benefitted greatly from the effects of immigrants that have improved the economy in many ways.

Increased population and cultural diversity: Due to increased immigration to the US a proportionally huge growth in the population has been witnessed. The acceptance of more legal immigrants by the United States in the recent past has led to an increased growth in their population. Coupled with increased cultural integration, their growth has been exponential. The cultural integration amongst the immigrant’s has also led to increased socio cultural changes.

Immigration also has its shortcomings. These include among other things increased poverty. Most immigrants occupy low income regions as well as low income generating employment. These characteristically include low incomes and poor working conditions. Other shortcomings include overpopulation, wars and asylum reasons, increased danger of terrorism

Mexico

            Mexico is one of the federal republics located in the North area of America. Its situation is such that it is surrounded to the northern side by the United States to the southern and western regions by the Pacific Ocean. To the eastern and south eastern regions lie the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea and Guatemala, Belize  respectively. Its geographical location is such that it lies within the points 23 00 N, 102 00 W. Its size is about 2 million square kilometers (over 760,000 sq mi) making it the 14^th largest nation in the world.  It is a country with a very large population estimated to be well above 100 million. Being a federal state it is made up of 31 states and one federal district (Mexico City) which also doubles up as the capital city. Being a colony of Spain that obtained its independence in 1821, it is a Spanish speaking nation. Largely recognized as a regional giant, it is also a leading economic giant in the world. It has a general terrain consisting of high, rugged mountains high placed plateaus, low coastal plains and desert regions characterized by unfavorable climatic conditions.

             Mexico is a Latin American nation with a rich cultural diversity as witnessed in the variety of cultures found therein. The major cultures found in this nation include the mestizo or otherwise known as meridian-Spanish who account for about 60% of the total population, the Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian whose composition lies at 30%. The white population occupies a paltry 9% while people f other cultures account for 1% of the total population. To that effect, there exist different religions and languages. The major religion practiced in Mexico is Christianity whose major constituent denominations include the Roman Catholic, Protestants, [Pentecostal, Jehovah's Witnesses and others] and others the religious affiliations of the rest are not quite clear.

            The major language spoken is Spanish while other indigenous languages include Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages. Mexico being a federal nation has a three piece system of government. By this I mean its government system is divided into the three major wings that coordinate effectively to bring about an efficient government. These are the executive, legislative and judicial branches. The executive branch comprises the chief of state, the head of government and the cabinet. The first two constituent parts are roles played by the president who is ceremoniously elected by the people in an election process that is carried out every six years. The legislative wing is made up of the parliament.  Being bicameral in nature, it has two distinct parts of the Senate (contains 128 seats 96 for which a popular vote is carried out and the rest are located on the basis of each party's popularity and relevant strength) and the Chamber of Deputies (with a composition of 500 seats; 300 for which an election by popular vote is carried out. The rest are obtained based on the respective party’s strength). The senate members serve for periods of 6 years while those in the Chamber of deputies have short stints of 3 years. The last wing, judicial wing is mainly made up of the Supreme Court of Justice whose members are selected by the president with consent from the senate. In the case of this bicameral parliament definitely a host of political power play is certain to play out considering there has to be different political parties. The major political parties include the Convergence for Democracy party, Mexican Green Ecological Party, Institutional Revolutionary Party, Labor Party, New Alliance Party National Action Party, and Party of the Democratic Revolution.

            Distinct forms of national representation include the flag and the national anthem. Being a trillion dollar economy, Mexico has a very stable economy boosted by efficient infrastructural services and communication. It has high per capita values and very discordant earning patterns between the rich and the poor. A fact to note is that Mexico also has very serious problems o cope with. One of these disasters is environmental hazards such as tsunami, and volcanoes and destructive earthquakes considering its proximity to the Pacific coast line. Another vice that has put Mexico on the world map for all the wrong reasons are its notoreirity in the drug field. Major drug cartels and barons have had their origins from Mexico. This has had a serious impact on the youths who have incoherently been adjoined into the drug business system.

Economics

            This is a science of a social nature that compiles and makes analysis on the production distribution and the consumption processes of goods and services. Economics generally allows us to decide what to produce, how to produce it and in what amounts considering the resources that are in place. Economics basically gives insight into how the often scarce resources are divided amongst various competing uses. This is clearly brought out shaped by the ever changing factors of supply and demand.  Economic principles has its wide application in the in the business, financial, criminal, political, educational, and other sectors.  There are many reasons for studying economics and one of the most important concerns how people acquire services and goods that they desire. (Nariman, 1998)

Classification of economics

            Economics is classified into two major groups; Microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics is a branch of economics that deals with the analysis and behavior of the market of consumers and firms with an aim of understanding process of making decisions in firms and households. It deals with the interaction between sellers and buyers and all the factors determine the choices they make. Of particular interest in microeconomics are the patterns of demand and supply and the determination of levels of output and price in specific markets. Microeconomics would therefore deal with single products in finer details. Macroeconomics on the other side can be defined as the study of all the systems of economics at the aggregate level. It encompasses all the processes of making decisions of the whole or entire economy. Economics encompasses a wide range of terms and applications that include resources and scarcity. Resources are the major raw materials that have to be allocated to the ever competing uses owing to their scarcity. Economics generally involve money hence market participation and prices the banking systems help to effectively control the monetary systems. Economic growth as widely used refers to the advancements in a country’s GDP while fiscal and monetary policies are tools used by the government to curb effects of inflation and even recession.

American economy

            The economy of America is arguably he largest and the best in the world.   It relies heavily on its building sectors that include retailing (leading major sector of the economy), energy sector (USA is the largest energy consumer in the world), Agriculture sector (America exports the largest amount of food), its financial sector (which is the leading creditor in the world) and its international trading policies.