In sum, IRCA did not have the effect on wages and working conditions for farm laborers that advocates for this group had hoped. Because of the continued labor glut, real wages did not rise, and have even fallen in some areas. And because of the increased use of FLCs, housing and other living conditions also have deteriorated. There is some evidence that variations in wages and piece rates, working conditions, and recruitment practices are narrowing across commodities and regions, meaning that laborers are unlikely to find better conditions on other farms or in other areas of the country. Nationally, the area planted in fresh vegetables increased by 15 percent between 1970 and 1992, with nearly all of this increase occurring in the 1980s.
Studies concentrated on western agriculture show an increase in production there as well.
It is doubtful that such expansion could have occurred if labor had been in short supply. Most other countries that have instituted guest worker programs have done so in sectors other than agriculture, but nevertheless their experience is useful. The experience of Germany and other industrialized countries shows that even though the rationale for the program is to bring in workers on a temporary basis, these workers tend to stay longer than the host countries either desired or anticipated. As one workshop participant reflected, the idea of the program is to bring in people to work but not to add to the population. But the latter has been the unintended result of most programs.