The Tico Times Daily News

Unlike the inhabitants of all of the other countries located between Costa Rica and the U.S.-Mexican border, Ticos are not interested in migrating north to look for better lives. And they are not interested in moving south, west or east, either. Surveys reveal that fewer than one in five Ticos want to go anyplace at all. In contrast, depending on the country, 40, 50 and up to 60 percent of citizens of some of the other Central American nations report that they would pick up and leave immediately if they had the wherewithal.

Although most experts agree that some movement of people from one country to another is positive � the newcomers come with fresh ideas more energy, and contribute in a positive way to the gene pool � a massive out-migration like the ones that have taken place in the so-called C4 countries (Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala) have a debilitating impact on national growth. There is a simple reason for this: migrants are usually stronger, mentally better equipped and probably better educated than those who stay at home. That a small portion of the local talent moves to the U.S. � it is estimated that 220,000 Costa Ricans live there, one third legally � does not cause damage. However, when a massive exodus occurs (think Irish potato famine or El Salvador's civil war as causes), it is difficult for the country of origin to recover.

There are two principal reasons why Costa Ricans do not migrate to the U.S. in larger numbers. First, the local unemployment rate has been in single digits for at least the past 25 years. In fact, there have been so many employment opportunities that the economy has been able to absorb 600,000 Nicaraguan immigrants to date, most of them since the turn of the century. Secondly, most Central American migrants who go to the U.S. move to areas where they have relatives to take them in and can help them to find jobs. In a recent survey done by CID/Gallup in El Salvador, 73 percent of those interviewed stated they had family in the U.S. The corresponding number for Costa Rica is 12 percent.

Since its independence, Costa Rica has received more immigrants than any of the other nations in the region, and this probably is why it is more diverse, and why more interesting ideas and projects seem to sprout naturally in its different locations and venues. The C4 countries have created economies based on the wholesale outbound migration of many of their most talented people, and the related social costs, including crime and violence, become more acute each year. Many unemployed people living in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala live out their days waiting for the next remittance check to come in from their relative who is working in the U.S.

An interesting, related question is: How many U.S. citizens live in Costa Rica? The estimate is about 18,000, and about half of these are in the country legally. This is fewer than a half percent of the total population. The 200,000 Ticos in the United States are less than a tenth of a percent of its population. As a percentage of the total population of each of the two countries, there are actually more Gringos living illegally in Costa Rica than vice versa. But as former Ambassador Mark Langdale once said, �Migration is not a priority on the bilateral agenda of either of our two nations.�

The crunch created by the global financial crisis has impacted primarily on Nicaraguan immigrants. With the severe drop in new construction projects and the decline in tourism, tens of thousands of Nicaraguan laborers, maids and maintenance people have found themselves on the street. Many have had to return home, where things are much worse than they were when they left the first time. The remaining jobs often have been taken by Ticos who shunned this type of work in the boom years, but now are willing to take anything to keep food on the table.

There is one important factor that needs to be added to understand the dynamics of the local labor market. There are no unemployment benefits for workers who lose their jobs, but they do continue to have health coverage provided by the Social Security System (Caja) for at least six months after being terminated. In contrast, U.S. workers do get unemployment benefits, but if they happen to get sick, they encounter problems in getting medical attention.

Because most local talent has remained in the country despite the financial crunch, it can be expected that Costa Rica will get back on its feet very quickly once things improve.

Carlos Denton is President of CID/Gallup, S.A., which provides strategy and marketing data in 14 countries of the region from its San José headquarters. cdenton@cidgallup.com