This review of recent research outlines changes in the composition and organization of labor supplies to the Middle East since the 1970s and indicates some effects on both sending and receiving countries. Before the recent Gulf war, Asians increasingly supplanted Arab migrant workers, entering the Gulf labor force through kinship networks, recruitment agencies and project-tied migration. At the national level, this emigration has sometimes led to severe labor shortages, as in Pakistan. Another effect is the impact of remittances on saving and investment behavior. A few detailed studies about countries of origin have provided insights into the push factors of the migration process; however, a major problem limiting research is poor survey and census data. In addition, research is lacking on the conditions of Asian migrant workers in the Middle East, the impact of emigration on demographic trends, and the important link between migration and development.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbellaM.1991“Contemporary Labour Migration from Asia: Policies and Perspectives of Sending Countries.” In Global Interactions: International Migration Systems in an Interdependent World. Edited by KritzM.LimL.L.ZlotnikH., Oxford University Press.
2.
AbellaM.1989“Pre-Migration Costs of Contract Laborers,”Asian Migrant, 2(4):113–121.
3.
AbellaM.1987“Asian Labour Mobility: New Dimensions and Implications for Development,”The Pakistan Development Review, August.
4.
AbellaM.1984“Labour Migration from South and South-East Asia: Some Policy Issues,”International Labour Review, 123(4):491–506.
5.
Abrera-MangahasA.1988What Workers Pay for Overseas Jobs: October 1987 Survey of Overseas Workers and Agents. Quezon City: Social Weather Station, Inc.
6.
AhmadM.1982Emigration of Scarce Skills in Pakistan International Migration for Employment Working Paper No. 5. Geneva: ILO.
7.
AlburoF.AbellaD.1991Migrants' Remittances and Impact on Philippine Economy. Bangkok: ILO/UNDP Asian Regional Programme on International Labour Migration.
8.
AmjadR., ed. 1989To the Gulf and Back. New Delhi: ILO/UNDP Regional Programme on International Labour Migration.
9.
AppleyardR.StahlC., eds. 1988International Migration Today. Paris: UNESCO and University of Western Australia.
10.
ArnoldF.AbadR.1978“Linkages between Internal and International Migration: The Ilocos Norte Experience,”Philippine Population, 1(2).
11.
ArnoldF.ShahN.M., eds. 1986Asian Labour Migration: Pipeline to the Middle East. Boulder: Westview.
12.
AtalY. Y.1986“Epilogue.” In Middle East Interlude: Asian Workers Abroad — A Comparative Study of Four Countries. Edited by AbellaM.AtalY., Bangkok: UNESCO.
13.
AzadA.K.1988The Cost and Financing of Individual Contract Migration. Bangkok: ILO/UNDP Asian Regional Programme on International Labour Migration.
14.
AzamFarooq-I, 1986The Working Conditions of Pakistani Migrant Workers in the Middle East International Migration for Employment Working Paper No. 25. Geneva: ILO.
15.
BirksJ.S.SinclairC.A.1980International Migration and Development in the Arab Region. Geneva: ILO.
16.
BurneyN.1989“A Macro-Economic Analysis of the Impact of Workers' Remittances on Pakistan's Economy.” In To the Gulf and Back. Edited by AmjadR., New Delhi: ILO/UNDP Asian Regional Programme on International Labour Migration.
17.
Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR)1987The Labour Trade: Filipino Migrant Workers Around the World. London: CIIR.
18.
ChaudryK.A.1989“The Price of Wealth: Business and State in Labour Remittances and Oil Economies,”International Organisation, 43(1).
19.
ChuocriN.1985The Hidden Economy: A New View of Remittances in the Arab World Mimeo. Cambridge: MIT.
20.
ChuocriN.1983Asians in the Arab World: Processes and Policies. Honolulu: East-West Population Institute.
21.
CohenR.1987The New Helots — Migrants in the International Division of Labour Research in Ethnic Relations Series. Aldershot, England: Gower.
22.
CremerG.1988“Employment of Indonesian Migrants in the Middle East: Present Situation and Prospects,”Bulletin of Indonesia Economic Studies, December.
23.
DemeryL.1986“Asian Labor Migration: An Empirical Assessment.” In Asian Labor Migration: Pipeline to the Middle East. Edited by ArnoldF.ShahN.M., Boulder: Westview.
24.
DiasM.1989“Female Overseas Contract Workers: Sri Lanka.” In The Trade in Domestic Helpers: Causes, Mechanisms and Consequences. Kuala Lumpur: Asian and Pacific Development Centre.
25.
EelensF.IrfanM.AhmedM.1988“Early Return of Sri Lankan Migrants in the Middle East,”International Migration, 26(4):401–415.
26.
FerganyN.1980The Affluent Years are Over — Emigration and Development in the Yemen Arab Republic. The Impact of International Migration for Employment Working Paper. Geneva: ILO.
27.
FindlayA.1987The Role of International Labour Migration in the Transformation of an Economy: The Case of the Yemen Arab Republic International Migration for Employment Working Paper. Geneva: ILO.
28.
GilaniI.1986“Pakistan.” In Middle East Interlude: Asian Workers Abroad — A Comparative Study of Four Countries. Edited by AbellaM.I.AtalY., Bangkok: UNESCO.
29.
GilaniI. F. KhanIqbalM.1981Labour Migration from Pakistan to the Middle East and Its Impact on the Domestic Economy: Final Report in Three Parts Research Report Series 126,127,128. Islamabad: Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
30.
GoS.PostradoL.1986“Filipino Overseas Contract Workers: Their Families and Communities.” In Asian Labour Migration: Pipeline to the Middle East. Edited by ArnoldF.ShahM.N., Boulder: Westview.
31.
GogateS.1986“Migration to the Middle East: The Indian Profile.” In Middle East Interlude: Asian workers Abroad-A Comparative Studies of Four Countries. Edited by AbellaM.I.AtalY., Bangkok: UNESCO.
32.
GulatiL.1986“The Impact on the Family of Male Migration to the Middle East: Some Evidence from Kerala, India.” In Asian Labour Migration: Pipeline to the Middle East. Edited by ArnoldF.ShahN.M..
33.
GunatillekeG. Ed. 1986Migration of Asian Workers to the Arab World. Tokyo: United Nations University.
34.
HeyzerN.LycklamaG.1989Designing a Policy Reseach on the Trade in Domestic Helpers. Kuala Lumpur: Asian and Pacific Development Center.
35.
HongfaS.NiponP.1989The Consequences of Overseas Migration on Rural Labour Market in Udorn Thani, Thailand. Bangkok: ILO/UNDP Asian Regional Programme on International Labour Migration.
36.
Institute of Labor and Manpower Studies (ILMS)1983Socio-Economic Consequences of Contract Labor Migration in the Philippines: Technical Report (Volume 1). Manila, ILMS.
37.
IrfanM.AhmedM.1985“Real Wages in Pakistan: Structure and Trends, 1970–1984,”The Pakistan Development Review, Autumn-Winter.
38.
IslamR.1981“Export of Manpower from Bangladesh to Middle East Countries: Tha Impact of Remittance Money on Household Expenditures.” In Labor Migration from Bangladesh to the Middle East. World Bank Staff Working Paper No. 481. Edited by AliS. A.Washington, DC: World Bank.
39.
KandilM.MetwallyM. F.1990“The Impact of Migrants' Remittances on the Egyptian Economy,”International Migration, 28(2):159–180.
40.
KaziS.1989“Domestic Impact of Overseas Migration: Pakistan.” In To the Gulf and Back. Edited by AmjadR., New Delhi: ILO/UNDP Asian Regional Programme on International Labour Migration.
41.
KeeleyC.1984“Research on Asian Labor Migration to the Middle East,”International Migration Review, 18(2):367–372.
42.
KhanM.F.1985“Pakistan.” In Migration of Asian Workers to the Arab World. Edited by GunatillekeG., Tokyo: United Nations University.
43.
KurienR.1978Patterns and Effectas of Emigration from Kerala: A Study of Two Villages. M. Phil. Dissertation, Center for Development Studies, Trivandrum.
44.
LabibA.1987“Immigration in the Countries of the Gulf: Some Special Aspects,”Studi Emigrazione/Etudes Migrations, 24(86):221–230.
45.
LefebvreA.1990“International Labour Migration from Two Pakistani Villages with Different Forms of Agriculture,”The Pakistan Development Review, 29(1).
46.
LimL.L.1989International Migration. Report submitted to the Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister's Department, Malaysia, for the Human Resources Development Plan, Kuala Lumpur.
47.
MahmoodR.1987Bangladesh Labour Migration to the Middle East: Past Trends and Future Prospects. Mimeo. Dhaka: Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.
48.
MahmudW.1989“The Impact of Overseas Labour Migration on the Bangladesh Economy,” In To the Gulf and Back. Edited by AmjadR., New Delhi: ILO/UNDP Asian Regional Programme on International Labour Migration.
49.
MahmudW.OsmaniS.R.1980“Impact of Emigrant Workers' Remittances on the Bangladeshi Economy,”Bangladesh Development Studies, 8(3).
50.
MasseyD.S.1988“Economic Development and International Migration in Comparative Perspective,”Population and Development Review, 14(3):383–413.
51.
Mathew, E.T. and P.R.G. Nair University Press. 1978“Socio-economic Characteristics of Emigrants and Emigrants' Household: A Case Study of Two Villages in Kerala,”Economic and Political Weekly, July.
52.
MaylahM.H.1989“In Measuring the Role of Discrimination in Kuwait's Labour Market,”Finance and Industry, No. 10, Kuwait.
53.
NagiM.H.1986“Determinants of Current Trends in Labor Migration and the Future Outlook.” In Asian Labor Migration: Pipeline to the Middle East. Edited by ArnoldF.ShahN.M., Boulder Westview.
54.
NairP.R.G.1989“Incidence, Impact and Implications of Migration to the Middle East from Kerala (India).” In To the Gulf and Back. Edited by AmjadR., New Delhi: ILO/UNDP Asian Regional Programme on International Labour Migration.
55.
NayyarD.1989“International Labour Migration from India: A Macro-Economic Analysis.” In To the Gulf and Back. Edited by AmjadR., New Delhi: ILO/UNDP Asian Regional Programme on Interantional Labour Migration.
56.
OsmaniS.R.1986“Bangladesh.” In Immigration of Asian Workers to The Arab World. Edited by GunatillekeG., Tokyo: United Nations University
57.
ParkRae YoungChaeHee Kyung1984Study on the Economic Analysis of the Effects of Overseas Migration. Kyunjie Yunkin: Hongik University.
58.
PeerathepR.1986“The Socio-Economic Consequences of labour Migration from Thailand to the Middle East.” In Asian Labor Migration: Pipeline to the Middle East. Edited by ArnoldF.ShahN. M., Boulder: Westview.
59.
PrakashB.A.1978“Impact of Foreign Remittance: A Case Study of Chavakkad Village,”Economic and Political Weekly, July.
60.
QuibriaM.G.1986“Migrant Workers and Remittances: Issues for Asian Developing Countries,”Asian Development Review, 4(1).
61.
RiggJ.1989International Contract Labor Migration and the Village Economy: The Case of Tambon Don Han, Northeastern Thailand. Hawaii: East-West Population Institute.
62.
SeccombeI.J.1988“International Migration in the Middle East: Historical Trends, Contemporary Patterns and Consequences,” In Interantional Migration Today. Edited by AppleyardR.StahlC., Paris: UNESCO and University of Wstern Australia.
63.
SerageldinI.1983Manpower and International Labour Migration in the Middle East and North Africa. Oxford. Universtiy Press.
64.
SherbinyN.1985Labour and Capital Flows in the Arab World: A Critical View. Kuwait: The Industrial Bank of Kuwait.
65.
SmartJ.E.TeodosioV.A.JimenezC.J.1986“Filipino Overseas Contract Workers: Their Families and Communities.” In Asian Labor Migration: Pipeline to the Middle East. Edited by ArnoldF.ShahN.M., Boulder: Westview.
66.
StahlC.W.1986“Southeast Asian Labor in the Middle East.” In Asian Labor Migration: Pipeline to the Middle East. Edited by ArnoldF.ShahN. M., Boulder: Westview.
67.
SwamiG.1981International Migrant Workers' Remittances: Issues and Prospects World Bank Staff. Working Paper No. 481. Washington, DC: Works Bank.
68.
TanE.1985“Adjustment of the Labour Market to the Foreign Outflow of Skilled Labour: The Case Construction Workers.” In Monitoring Labour Markets. Bangkok: ILO/ARPLA.
69.
TanE.A.CanlasD.B.1989“Migrant's Saving Remittance and Labour Supply Behaviour: The Philippine Case.” In To the Gulf and Back. Edited by AmjadR., New Delhi: ILO/UNDP Asian Regional Programme on Interanational Labour Migration.
70.
VasquezN.D.1986Mobilising Surplus Labour Through International Exchange. Quezon City: Brotherhood of Asian Trade Unionists and Ateneo Center for Social Policy.
71.
WeinerM.1982“International Migration and Development: Indians in the Persian Gulf,”Population and Development Review, 8(1).
72.
ZarZ.1984Recruitment Practices and Working and Living Conditions of Asian Migrant Workers in the Middle East: Problems and Possible Solutions. International Migration for Employment Working Paper, Geneva: ILO.
