Band 6+: Some young people are leaving the country side to live in cities and towns, leaving only old people in the countryside. What problems are caused by this issue? What can be done to solve this situation?

In contemporary, many individuals are moving into megapolises or cities, specifically youth, leaving behind elderly people. This trend causes not only the lack of workforce in countryside but also leads to raising the unemployment rates in big cities. I strongly believe to ameliorate these problems, it is essential for governments to take actions.

To begin with, it appears that most works are done by youth or people aged 30-50, meaning if the labour market experiences the absence of workforce, most businesses forced to move to big cities, where they can find workers and demand for their products. However, it will significantly affect agriculture sector, as their practices cannot be applied into urban areas. As a result, the increased food prices can be witnessed. Moreover, in the cities, the labour market cannot provide all job seekers with satisfied job, meaning it becames saturated. This leads that many people would left without stable job, increasing the unemployment rates. A prime example is the rapid urbanization in Chinese major cities, the decreased number in agriculture sector, resulted in higher prices for food supplies and unemployment rates in towns. All combined, it decreases overall life quality in both urban and rural areas.

To tackle these problems, governments could implement laws that limit youth migration from countryside to towns. This enables the market to digest new workforce and find them jobs, therby the unemployment rates drop. Furthermore, subsidising the businesses in rural areas, can allow them to increase their wages, attracting more people to work in these regions. Investing into countryside, makes local businesses to able to compete with their urban counterparts. For instance, in Kazakhstan, the government through a campaign called ‘Zhasyl Aul’, allocate funds to rural areas, creating more jobs to local. As a result, most people still live in these regions.

In conclusion, a vast amount of young people are migrating into large cities. This trend leads to the increased food prices and higher unemployment rates in megapolises. I strongly believe that it is crucial to implement legislations that limit people movement and to fund local businesses to incentivise people to stay there.