NAFTA Essay, Research Paper

If NAFTA made this agreement, people would be able to move about Canada, the United States, and Mexico with ease. The unskilled workers in Mexico would migrate to “El Norte,” looking for higher paying jobs. The supply of workers in Mexico will drastically decrease. Only the terminally ignorant, or those with families in Mexico, would stay in a poor country and earn low wages. On the other hand, the United States’ supply of workers will increase drastically. Canada’s supply of workers would not be changed dramatically, because it is so similar to the United States, only further away. The amount of workers moving from Canada to the United States and vice versa would not be severely affected, however, if the United States’ supply of workers becomes too great then workers might migrate north to Canada to find jobs.

High school economics teachers would be able to work in any of the three countries, as the same basic knowledge of economics is required. I think teachers in Mexico would choose to move to the United States or Canada, if they were proficient in the native language, because the wages would be much more gratifying. The supply of economics teachers in the US and Canada would increase, thereby slightly decreasing the wages. Mexico’s supply of economics teachers would drop, so the wages for economics teachers would slightly increase. Equilibrium wages for economics teachers will remain about the same, and employment will be high.

For carpenters, again, I think the wages in the north would be higher. Because carpentry does not involve extensive education and focuses on the talent and skill of carpenters, workers would be able to easily move to another country. If all of the carpenters in Mexico decide to “run for the border,” the supply of carpenters in the US and Canada will drastically increase. Wages will increase for skilled carpenters in Mexico, and wages in the US and Canada will fall slightly. If too many Mexicans move to the north there will be high unemployment, because we will have a ton of skilled workers and not enough jobs to fulfill their needs. People will eventually want to return to Mexico, because with the supply of skilled workers being so low, the wages will be slightly higher.

For ob/gyns, I would think the United States or Canada would be the destination of choice, simply because our health care is much more advanced. In any of the countries, however, the pay will be significant because of wage differentials. They will ultimately make up for all of the years of schooling by receiving high wages.

For fast-food workers, the supply will increase in the US due to the unskilled workers from Mexico who try to get these jobs. Demand for workers in the fast-food industry will go down, because there are plenty of unskilled workers. Demand for the labor will decrease as well, because the supply of labor is so great. Newspaper reporters will most likely stay where they are. There is always going to be news to be reported, and the language barrier also plays a part.

Most Mexican workers will want to move to the US or Canada because real wages are higher than those of Mexico. In the US and Canada, wages are higher because of better education, a more skilled workforce, larger stock of capital per worker, and the advantage of modern technology. Unskilled workers from Mexico might find themselves in the same position no matter which country they are in. They will be competing for low-paying minimum wage jobs, and there will be a plethora of unskilled workers.