Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-8zxtt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-08T14:51:08.678Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Changing Characteristics of Migrant Workers in Kuwait

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2009

Nasra M. Shah  and
Sulayman S. Al-Qudsi
Nasra M. Shah
Affiliation:
(Shah) Sociology, Kuwait University; Ministry of Public Health, Kuwait
Sulayman S. Al-Qudsi
Affiliation:
(Al-Qudsi) Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Kuwait is one of the gulf countries that has imported large numbers of temporary migrant workers over the last decade or so. The import of such workers was necessitated by the ambitious development plans that were made possible by the oil bonanza after 1973. Even prior to this influx, however, more than 70 percent of the labor force in Kuwait consisted of foreign workers. As the country has gone through economic and other changes, its goals concerning the magnitude and structure of the migrant worker population have undergone substantial revisions. These changes are reflected in such indicators as number of migrant workers; occupational and industrial distribution of the labor force; demographic, ethnic, and educational characteristics of this labor force; and related wage levels. An examination of the above changes is the objective of the present study.

Type
Articles
Information
International Journal of Middle East Studies , Volume 21 , Issue 1 , February 1989 , pp. 31 - 55
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Al-Akhras, S. 1982. “Aspects of Immigrants Labour Force Stability in Kuwait,” Population and Development in the Middle East, Beirut: ECWA, 213–27.Google Scholar
Alessa, S. Y. 1981. The Manpower Problem in Kuwait. London: Kegan Paul International Ltd.Google Scholar
Al-Qudsi, S. S. 1985. ‘Earning Differences in the Labor Market of the Arab Gulf States: The Case of Kuwait,” Journal of Development Economics 18, 1, 2 (05/06): 119–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Al-Qudsi, S. S.. 1986. Returns to Education: Sectoral Pay Differentials and Determinants in Kuwait. Kuwait: Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research.Google Scholar
Al-Qudsi, S. S., and Hosni, D. A. 1986. Public Sector Activities and Human Resources Development. Kuwait: Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR Report 2163, 11).Google Scholar
Al-Qudsi, S. S., and Shah, N. M. 1988. “Economic Progress of Foreign Workers in Kuwait.” Unpublished.Google Scholar
Birks, J. S., and Sinclair, C. A. 1979. ‘Migration and Development: The Changing Perspective of the Poor Arab Countries,” Journal of International Affairs, 33, 2:285–309.Google Scholar
Chiswick, Barry S. 1982. The Employment of Immigrants in the United States. Washington D.C.: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research.Google Scholar
Choucri, N. 1983/1984. “Migration in the Middle East: Transformation and Change,” Middle East Review, 16, 2:16–27.Google Scholar
Choucri, N. 1986. “Asians in the Arab World: Labor Migration and Public Policy,” Middle Eastern Studies, 22, 2:252–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hosni, D., and Al-Qudsi, S. 1986. “Basic Needs and the Manpower Dilemma of Kuwait,” International Journal of Manpower, 7, 4:13–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kanovsky, E. 1986. “Migration from the Poor to the Rich Arab Countries,” Middle East Review, 18, 3:28–35.Google Scholar
Keeley, C. 1980. “Asian Worker Migration to the Middle East.” Center for Policy Studies Working Paper No. 52 (January). New York: Center for Policy Studies.Google Scholar
Ministerial Council (Kuwait). 1985. Kuwait Five Year Plan 19857sol;86–1989/90, Vol. 2: Population and Labor Force. Kuwait: Ministerial Council.Google Scholar
Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour (Kuwait). 1983. Athr al-murabiyyat al-ajnabyya 'ala al-usr al-Kuwaitiyya. Kuwait: Ministry Report.Google Scholar
Nagi, M. H. 1982. “Imported Development, Dependency, and the Future of the Gulf,” in Faculty of University of Basra, The Future of the Arab Gulf. Basra: Center for Arab Gulf Studies, pp. 388–420.Google Scholar
Nagi, M. H. 1986. “Determinants of Current Trends in Labor Migration and the Future Outlook,” in Arnold, F. and Shah, N. M., eds., Asian Labor Migration: Pipeline to the Middle East. Boulder, Colo: Westview Press, pp. 47–64.Google Scholar
Shah, N. M. 1985. “The Transition in Female Status in Kuwait: Issues and Likely Impacts.” Special Issue on Population and Development Symposium, 1985. Research Monograph Series No. 14, Cairo: Cairo Demographic Center, pp. 269–88.Google Scholar
Shah, N. M. 1986. “Foreign Workers in Kuwait: Implications for the Kuwaiti Labor Force,” International Migration Review, 20, 4:815–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weiner, M. 1982. “Migration and Development in the Gulf,” Population and Development Review, 8, 1:1–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wriggins, H. W. 1985. “South Asia and the Gulf: Linkages, Gains, and Limitations,” Middle East Review, 18, 2:25–35.Google Scholar