Realism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Realism - Essay Example Therefore, even if not a constant state of war, international relations would appear a state of â€Å"relentless security competition, with the possibility of war always in the background† (Mearsheimer, â€Å"The False Promiseâ€Å", 9). This paper examines the role of institutions in the system of international relations, most notably their capacity, or alternatively, incapacity to prevent war and foster stability, as perceived by the realist tradition; as well as the degree to which institutions actually contribute to cooperation in a realist world. 2. Realism and International Institutions There are between four and five major assumptions about the international system identified with realism, which actually denote the main lines of realist tradition and form the basis for the development of any hypothesis or theory (Viotti and Kauppi 55; Mearsheimer, â€Å"The False Promiseâ€Å", 10). ... at stipulate the ways in which states should cooperate and compete with each other†, prescribing acceptable forms of state’s behavior, as well as the unacceptable ones; while other definitions encompass virtually all of international relations, i.e. from tariff bindings to war (â€Å"The False Promiseâ€Å", 8). According to Young, however, the latter is too broad a definition for a meaningful concept (cited in Mearsheimer 8). Realists, in turn, recognize that states operate – at least sometimes – through institutions (Mearsheimer, â€Å"The False Promiseâ€Å", 13). Insofar as in non-hierarchic political orders each political actor, i.e. state, must count on its own resources to realize its interests, and order is not imposed by a higher authority, but rather arises from the interactions between formally equal political partners, institutions – as understood by Mearsheimer (see above) – inevitably reflect states’ calculations of se lf-interest (Waltz 107; Donnelly 17; Mearsheimer, â€Å"The False Promiseâ€Å", 13). Thus, according to realism, the most powerful states in the international system â€Å"create and shape institutions so that they can maintain their share of world power, or even increase it†; hence institutions largely mirror the distribution of power within the system (Mearsheimer, â€Å"The False Promiseâ€Å", 13). Or in other words, institutions are regarded as â€Å"arenas for acting out power relationships† (Mearsheimer, â€Å"The False Promiseâ€Å", 13). Assuming that states are the principal actors in the international system, institutions – as a set of rules defining states’ behavior – are negotiated by states and inevitably entail the mutual acceptance of higher norms, â€Å"defined in terms of rights and obligations† (Mearsheimer, â€Å"The False Promiseâ€Å",

Labor mobility Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Labor mobility - Research Paper Example Frank Barry said that in the Harris-Todaro approach, perfect labor mobility is assumed (Fodders and Langhammer, 2006 p. 37). Here, migration utilizes utility across locations and it results to complete depopulation. This kind of perfect mobility yields a restrictive result, however, outside options will be held constant, the individuals welfare will be affected. To have a simpler model, let us consider Ehrenberg’s and Smith’s (2003) definition of mobility as an investment with costs at the start in exchange for future earnings or returns in the long run. The mobility decision is influenced by the benefits that will be acquired minus the costs of moving. Ehrenberg and Smith (2003) mentioned that the theory of human capital predicts the direction of migratory flows among workers. Labor will move to economies that offer higher earnings but this does not imply that their place origin has the worst opportunities available. Wage differential is one the reasons that labor migr ation occur. Table 1. Educational Attainment of Persons Going Out of the United States: 2009 to 2010 Educational Attainment Total Not a high school graduate 109,000 High school graduate 87,000 Some college or AA degree 76,000 Bachelor’s degree 166,000 Prof. or graduate degree 122,000 Persons age 1-24 385,000 Source: U.S. Bureau of Census, Geographical Mobility: 2009-2010, Table 1, http://www.census.gov/hhes/migration/data/cps/cps2010.html Education is the best determinant as to who will move within an age group (Ehrenberg and Smith, 2003). As we can see from Table 1, people having a bachelor’s degree are more likely to go abroad. With globalization and the continued advancement of technology, looking for job opportunities abroad will be easier especially for persons with a college degree or higher. They are considered as high-skilled laborers (Vinokur, 2006) belonging to the professional, technical, and kindred or related workers (Martin, Abella, and Kuptsch, 2006 p. 5 5). Radcliffe (2009) cited several ways how immigration could affect a recipient country’s economy. First, there will be an increase supply of labor. The arrival of migrant workers will increase the total labor supply of the recipient country. If labor demand will not increase, the increase in labor supply will result to a decrease in wage rates. Also, if available jobs will remain the same, the rise of labor supply will result to unemployment. There is also a positive effect that is brought about by immigration to the host country since some laborers added have specialized skills. These skills will contribute to the increase of productivity in their areas of concern. Most economists perceive that having immigrants will be beneficial to the country of origin for three reasons (Martin et al, 2006 p58). First, production loss especially in boom sectors will be minimized since the migrants can work on the vacant jobs until more local workers are trained. Second, they can increas e the diversity of work teams contributing to the increase of productivity. Lastly, they can hold down wage increases in their concerned sectors. Though this can be can be considered a loss to the local workers, this can be beneficial to the local populace since this would also imply that the price of the services they provide will still be easier to pay. In the perspective of the country of origin, the movement of their labor force outside the country is viewed in another manner. Brain drain