This article reviews evidence that contemporary Egyptian international labor migration to oil-rich Arab countries has followed a classic social process which starts with a homo economicus phase, advances into a goal reorientation phase, and ends with the establishment of diaspora communities in destination societies. The history of Egyptian migration, current estimates of migration, the role of Egyptians in selected Arab countries, and emergent processes all were found to support the predictions of the social process model. Particularly important support comes from the finding that all social classes participated in this migration. Conclusions suggest the likelihood that Egyptian migration processes will promote economic and perhaps social integration in the region.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbdallaI.S., 1983Images of the Arab Future.London, ENG: Frances Printer.
2.
Abdel JaberT.1982 “Trends and Prospects of Brain Drain from Arab Countries”. In International Migration in the Arab World, Volume II. Beirut: ECWA. Pp. 779–790.
3.
Abdel-FadelM.1979Oil and Arab Unity. Center for Arab Unity. Beirut. AjamiF. 1981 The Arab Predicament: Arab Political Thought and Practice since 1967. NY: Cambridge University Press.
4.
AmerH.1986 “Gulf Recession Boosts Influx of Asian Labour”, Middle East Times. November 16–22 1986. Page 7.
5.
AminG.A.1981 “Some Economic and Cultural Aspects of Economic Liberalization in Egypt”, Social Problems.28(4):430–441.
6.
AminG.A. and AwnyE.1985International Migration of Egyptian Labour: A Review of the State of the Art. Manuscript Report of the International Development Research Center (Canada), IDRC-MR108e. May 1985.
7.
AyubiN.N.M.1983 “The Egyptian ‘Brain Drain’: A Multidimensional Problem”, International Journal of Middle East Studies.15(4):431–450.
8.
El BadryM.A.R.1965 “Internal Migration in the U.A.R.”, L'Egypte contemporaine.319:31–44.
9.
BayatA.1986Personal conversation, November 24, 1986. Dr. Bayat is an Iranian sociologist working in Egypt.
10.
BeaugeG. and SaderM.1981 “The Pattern of Employment, Migration and Labour in the Gulf Countries”, Population Bulletin of ECWA. No. 21:85–102.
11.
BirksJ.S. and SinclairC.A.1980International Migration and Development in the Arab Region.Geneva: ILO.
12.
BirksJ.S., SeccombeI.J. and SinclairC.A.1986 “Migrant Workers in the Gulf: The Impact of Declining Oil Revenues”, International Migration Review.20(4):799–814.
13.
BirksJ.S., SinclairC.A. and SocknatJ.A.1983 “The Demand for Egyptian Labour Abroad”. In Migration, Mechanization and Agricultural Labor Markets in Egypt. Edited by RichardsA. and MartinP.L.Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Pp. 117–134.
14.
BohningW.R.1984Studies in International Labor Migration.London, ENG: MacMillan Press Ltd.
15.
Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS)1986Statistical Year Book Arab Republic of Egypt: 1952–1985. Cairo. June.
16.
Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS)1985A Statement on the Population of the Arab Republic of Egypt. January 22, 1985. mimeo.
17.
CastlesS.1984Here for Good: Western Europe's New Ethnic Minorities.London, ENG: Pluto Press.
18.
ChoucriN.1986 “Asians in the Arab World: Labor Migration and Public Policy”, Middle Eastern Studies.22(2):252–273.
19.
ChoucriN.1978Migration Processes among Developing Countries: The Middle East.Cambridge, MA: Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Monograph C/78–5, May. Pp. 48.
20.
ChoucriN.1977 “The New Migration in the Middle East: A Problem for Whom?”, International Migration Review.11(4):421–443.
21.
ChourcriN., EckausR.E. and El-DinA.M.1978Migration and Employment in the Construction Sector: Critical Functions in Egyptian Development. Cairo University-MIT Technology Transfer Program.
22.
ClelandW.1936The Population Problem in Egypt: A Study of Population Trends and Conditions in Modern Egypt.Lancaster, PA: Science Press Printing Company.
23.
ColeD.1987Personal conversation. Dr. Cole based his comments on recent fieldwork in Saudi Arabia.
24.
CouryR.M.1982 “Who ‘Invented’ Egyptian Arab Nationalism? Part II”, International Journal of Middle East Studies.14(4):459–479.
25.
DavisK.1981 “International Inequality and Migration in the Middle East and North Africa: Analysis of Trends and Issues”, The Population Bulletin of the ECWA. December, 21:5–26.
26.
DeebM.1978 “The Socioeconomic Role of the Local Foreign Minorities in Modern Egypt: 1805–1961”, International Journal of Middle East Studies.9(1):11–22.
27.
DessoukiA.E.H.1982 “The Shift in Egypt's Migration Policy: 1952–1977”, Middle Eastern Studies.18(1):53–68.
28.
DessoukiA.E.H.1981 “Policy Making in Egypt: A Case Study of the Open Door Economics Policy”, Social Problems.28(4):410–416.
29.
FerganyN.1986 “On Labor Migration in Egypt (1974–1985)”. CDC Annual Seminar Paper CDC/S86/09, Cairo Demographic Center. December 6–9, 1986.
30.
FerganyN.1983Emigration to Oil. Center for Arab Unity Studies. Pp. 236. Reviewed by A.S.A. Latif in Population Studies, Cairo, 1984. Vol. 11(68):19–28.
31.
FrankA.G.1984Critique and Anti-Critque: Essays on Dependence and Reformism.NY: MacMillan.
32.
GallagherC.1981 “Population and Development in Egypt: Birth and Death on the Nile”. American University Field Staff Report No. 3.
33.
HallidayF.1984 “Labour Migration in the Arab World”, Middle East Research and Information Project. No. 123. May.
34.
HasenB. and RadwanS.1982Employment Opportunities and Equity in Egypt.Geneva: International Labor Office. Pp. 291.
35.
HerbigL.1987Student paper at the American University in Cairo. The arrests were reported in Al Ahram, November 1986.
36.
HouraniA.H.1947Minorities in the Arab World.Oxford: Oxford University Press.
37.
IbrahimS.E.1982a The New Arab Social Order: A Study of the Social Impact of Oil Wealth.Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
38.
IbrahimS.E.1982b “Oil Migration and the New Arab Social Order”. In Rich and Poor States in the Middle East: Egypt and the New Arab Order. Edited by KerrM.H. and YassinE.S.Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. Pp. 17–70.
39.
IslamiA.R.S. and KavoussiR.M.1984The Political Economy of Saudi Arabia.Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press.
40.
IsmaelJ.S.1986 “The Conditions of Egyptian Labor in the Gulf: A Profile on Kuwait”, Arab Studies Quarterly.8(4):390–403.
41.
IsmaelJ.S.1982Kuwait: Social Change in Historical Perspective.Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
42.
JansenC.J.1969 “Some Sociological Aspects of Migration”. In Migration: Sociological Studies. Edited by JacksonJ.A.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 3–35.
43.
JohanyA.D., BerneM. and MixonJ.W.Jr.1986The Saudi Arabian Economy.London, ENG: Croom Helm.
44.
KhafagiF.1983 “Socio-Economic Impact of Emigration from a Giza Village”. In Migration, Mechanization, and Agricultural Labor Markets in Egypt, Chapter 7. Edited by RichardsA. and MartinP.L.Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Pp. 135–156.
45.
KhouryN.A.1982 “The Politics of Intra-regional Migration”. In International Migration in the Arab World. Proceedings of an Economic Commission for Western Asia Population Conference, Nicosia, Cyprus, May 11–16, 1981. United Nations ECWA, Beirut. Pp. 753–776.
46.
LaTowskyR.J.1984 “Egyptian Labor Abroad: Mass Participation and Modest Returns”, Merip Reports. May:11–19.
47.
MERIP1985Middle East Research Institute Report Saudi Arabia: 1985.London, ENG: Croom Helm.
48.
El MallakhR.1982Saudi Arabia: Rush to Development.London, ENG: Croom Helm.
49.
MangalamJ.J. and SchwartzwellerH.K.1970 “Some Theoretical Guidelines toward a Sociology of Migration”, International Migration Review.4:5–21.
50.
MasseyD.S.1986 “The Settlement Process Among Mexican Migrants to the United States”, American Sociological Review.51 (October): 670–684.
51.
MessihaS.A.1983 “The Export of Egyptian School Teachers”, The Cairo Papers in Social Science.3 (4): July. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press.
52.
MichaelsonK.L., Ed. 1981 “Introduction: Population Theory and the Political Economy of Population Processes”. In And the Poor Get Children: Radical Perspectives on Population Dynamics.NY: Monthly Review Press. Pp. 11–35.
53.
Middle East Journal1986 “Chronology: April 16 to July 15 1986”, Vol. 40(4):698.
54.
Middle East Times1986 “Egyptians Build Own Consulate in Kuwait”. December 14–20:8.
55.
MillerJ.1985 “End of Oil Boom in Gulf Sends Arab Migrant Workers Home to Uncertain Future”, International Herald Tribune. Monday, October 7:2.
56.
MillerM.J.1986 “Introduction” to a Special Issue on Temporary Migration, International Migration Review.20(4):740–757.
57.
Mohie El-DinA. and OmarA.1978 “The Emigration of Universities Academic Staff”. University/MIT Program on Egyptian Labor Migration. July.
58.
MoonC.I.1986 “Korean Contractors in Saudi Arabia: Their Rise and Fall”, The Middle East Journal.40(4):614–633.
59.
El-NemrK.1984 Interview in Cairo Today, May 1984:28.
60.
OweissI.1980 “Migration of Egyptians”, L'Egypte Contemporaine. 381(July):5–16.
61.
PioreM.J.1979Birds of Passage: Migrant Labor and Industrial Societies.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
62.
PolanyiK.1944The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time.Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
63.
Population Division1982 “Socio-economic Characteristics of International Migrants in Gulf States”. In International Migration in the Arab World. Proceedings of an Economic Commission for Western Asia Population Conference, Nicosia, Cyprus, May 11–16, 1981. United Nations ECWA, Beirut. Pp. 685–732.
64.
PortesA. and BachR.L.1985Latin American Journey: Cuban and Mexican Immigrants in the U.S.Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
65.
PortesA. and WaltonJ.1981Labor, Class and the International System.NY: Academic Press.
66.
RichardsA. and MartinP.L., Eds. 1983Migration, Mechanization, and Agricultural Labor Markets in Egypt.Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
67.
RizkI.A.1987Personal conversation. Dr. Rizk is an Egyptian sociologist working in Saudi Arabia.
68.
SaidE.1978Orientalism.NY: Pantheon Books.
69.
SalamaA.B.1984Interview by George Shadroui in Cairo Today. May 1984:29–77.
70.
SalehS.A.W.1983 “The Brain Drain in Egypt”, Cairo Papers in Social Science. 2(5) 2nd edition. 1st edition published in 1978.
71.
SellR.R.1987 “Gone for Good: Egyptian Migration Processes in the Arab World”, Cairo Papers in Social Science.10(2):1–97.
72.
SellR.R.1986Observation and personal conversation with official in charge at government offices. June.
73.
ShahN.M.1986 “Foreign Workers in Kuwait: Implications for the Kuwaiti Labor Force”, International Migration Review.20(4):815–832.
74.
ShahN.M. and ShahM.A.1986 “Changes in Mortality and Wellness: The Role of Health Policies in Kuwait”. Paper presented at the XIth International Sociological Congress, New Delhi, India. August.
75.
ShawR.P.1983Mobilizing Human Resources in the Arab World.London, ENG: Kegan Paul International.
76.
SherbinyN.A. and SerageldinI.1982 “Expatriate Labor and Economic Growth: Saudi Demand for Egyptian Labor”. In Rich and Poor States in the Middle East: Egypt and the New Arab Order. Edited by KerrM.H. and YassinE.S.Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. Pp. 225–258.
77.
SilveraA.1980 “The First Egyptian Student Mission to France under Mohammed Ali”, Middle Eastern Studies.16(2):1–22.
78.
El SolhC.F.1985 “Migration and the Selectivity of Change: Egyptian Peasant Women in Iraq”, Peuples mediterraneens. 31–32 (Avril-Sept):243–258.
79.
StycosJ., SayedH.A.A. and AveryR.1985 “An Evaluation of the Population and Development Program in Egypt”, Demography.22(3):431–443.
80.
TapinosG.1981 “The Economics of International Migration”, Population Bulletin of ECWA. June 20:39–46.
81.
TeitelbaumM.S.1975 “Relevance of Demographic Transition Theory for Developing Countries”, Science.188:420–425.
82.
WeinbaumM.G.1985 “Egypt's Infitah and the Politics of U.S. Economic Assistance”, Middle Eastern Studies.21(2):206–222.
