Erasmus Mundus Master Programme International Migration and Social Cohesion Student: Lala Gadirova DOB 19/10/1990
Lost Potential: The Perspectives of High Skilled Migrants in The Private Sector of The United Arab Emirates
2nd Year Institute: University of Osnabruck Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies Thesis Supervisors: University of Osnabruck: dr. Helen Schwenken (hschwenken@uos.de) University of Amsterdam: dr. Sebastien Chauvin (S.M.G.Chauvin@uva.nl) University of Deusto: dr. Sonia Pereira (sonia.pereira@deusto.es)
Osnabruck 2015
Table of Contents
Introduction………..4
Methodology………...8
Chapter 1: Theoretical Framework: 1.1. Cultural Capital………...10
1.2 Human Capital………...13
1.3 Labour Market Segmentation……….15
Chapter 2: Who are Skilled Migrants: 2.1 Skilled Workers………....19
2.2 Cultural Capital and Skilled Workers………....20
2.3 Relevance of Education………...21
2.4 Education vs. Experience………...22
Chapter 3: The Portability of Human Capital: 3.1 Relevance of Expertise…………...23
3.2 Origins of Expertise………...23
3.3 Labour Market Consequences………24
3.4 Linguistic Capabilities………...25
3.5 Domestic Human Capital………...26
3.6 Cross Country Complications………27
3.7 Salary Gap………..28
3.8 Factors that Diminish Salary Gap………..29
3.9 Relevance of Context………...30
Chapter4: Labour Market Structure of UAE: 4.1Public-Native vs. Private–Expat ...31
4.2 Management of Migrant Workers………..33
4.3 Management of Native Workers………35
4.4 Free Economic Zones or Business Free Zones………..36
4.5 Nationalization Policies………...37
Chapter 5: Regulations and Loopholes: 5.1 A Large Flow of Migrant Workers……..…..38
5.2 Measures of Control………...39
5.3 Anomalies………..40
5.4 Advantages and Disadvantages………..……41
5.5 Non-naturalization Policies………....43
5.6 Degree Verification………..……..44
5.7 Local Skills……….45
Chapter 6: Deskilling: 6.1 Denigration of Cultural Capital………...46
6.2 Types of Cultural Capital………...46
6.3 Labour Market Restrictions………47
6.4 Relevance of Labour Market Structure………..49
6.5 Racial and Accent Prejudice………..50
6.6 Limited Financial Integration Paths………...52
6.7 Consequences of Deskilling………...53
Chapter 7: Perceptions, Coping Mechanisms and Deskilling: 7.1 Cultural Capital vs. Ethnic Penalty………54
7.2 Relevance of Academic Diplomas………...59
7.3 Requirements and Preferences for Portability of Human Capital………...62
7.4 Realities of Labour Market Segmentation……….………66
7.5 Regulations Debunked………...70
7.6 Habitus and Deskilling………...73
Introduction
Before the evolution of the oil industry as the main source of earnings for the Gulf Cooperation Council states, there were comparatively less migrant workers in the agrarian and nomadic districts. A deliberate decision was taken by the political aristocrats not to instruct and educate native laborers for economic growth, because this would require a lot of time, but to enable fast development and erection of infrastructure through short-term labour migration. Hence, starting from 1975 to 1985 GCC states had approximately 7.7% of labour force increase per year. The expat workforce increased by 13%. The turn down of oil prices followed from the decreased labour demand in the second half of 1980s, however this only impeded the increase in complete amount of contract labourers. A high number of nationals began to become visible in the labour market in various GCC states. In none of the GCC states did the tendency of growing numbers of expats disappear, even though some years demonstrate a few lows and highs. Throughout the last ten years for which data is obtainable (1999-2008), the amount of migrant employees increased threefold in United Arab Emirates (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.8).
During the initial years of directing contracted labour flows, labour emigration was ordered by means of offices created to manage immediate government-to-government appeals. The wish for a quick transition into a new economic phase guided GCC states to allow nearly unlimited flows of temporary migrant labourers to be utilized in businesses, meanwhile implementing limitations on the immigrants. During this time, emigration regulations were being reconsidered in the sending states, committed agency was created, which consisted of a group of people in charge of overseeing recruitment,
analyzing and endorsing contracts, recording migrants, and assuring the instructions and embassy support in order to make sure that there was coherence with minimum salaries and working conditions and access to welfare (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p36).
Despite the enforcement of emigration regulations in the UAE, while high skilled migrants were accepted as professionals according to the immigration policies of the host countries, many of them are downgraded to lower status and lower paying occupations due to the rejection of their foreign credentials. Other reasons for deskilling of high skilled migrants can be prejudice for education obtained in the receiving country or in academic establishments in developing nations, local experience, cultural awareness and English skills (Siar, 2013, p.1). This topic is insightful for the current academic debate, because it exemplifies labour market segmentation in the high skilled primary labour market. These workers cannot unionize and are not protected by the government of the UAE, because the duty of protection is put upon the employer, who doe not always follow laws or regulations and who makes his own criteria on the recruitment process, salary and the position of the worker. Based on these observations, it will be interesting to investigate if there is a pattern of deskilling based on nationality, education or experience of workers. Scholarly work has demonstrated that Western emigrants are mostly segmented in high skilled positions and usually earn higher salaries as opposed to other workers, although a majority of them do not speak Arabic. Further causes of deskilling can be due to non-recognition of foreign credentials, racial prejudice/discrimination, and unorganized social networks/communities (Froilan T Malit Jr& Tchiapep Oliver, 2013, p.15).
Current academic debate mainly focuses on the low skilled workers and human rights violations that they undergo in the GCC countries. However, the aim of this research is distinct, it will be solely focused on individuals who have a higher level of education and experience. Magdalena Nowicka is one of the few scholars who has addressed the fact that high skilled workers who received their education and work experience in developing countries have to take up another degree in the UK or another developed country in order to get a job in their field. The author’s point is also relevant to the present study because the location of the degree, experience and nationality may play a role in the socio-economic success of a migrant.
The main interest of this research lies in the primary market and the experiences and perceptions of high skilled workers employed in this sector. The United Arab Emirates receives a prominent level of high skilled labour migrants. Currently there are 7.8 million migrant workers in the UAE (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.57). High skilled migrants are identified on the grounds of salary level, education certificates, and according to particular sectors of the labour market. These high skilled workers may come from various countries in the world, whether from a developed or developing country. The 2003 data on public sector employment in UAE shows that only 1% of nationals were employed in the private sector. Over the last ten years, the UAE has taken turns with Qatar, as the GCC country with the highest percentage of labour migrants, which is currently 85%. The migrant employees are mainly from Asian countries such as India and Pakistan and these migrants make up the 87% of the workforce, with 9% of Arabs and small percentage of Europeans (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.57).
It is necessary to find out if the individual himself feels as if he or she has been deskilled, or so to say works in a position below his qualifications in order to link his or her experiences to the theory of labour market segmentation. The coping mechanisms are relevant in Nowicka’s work, because some of her respondents had taken up jobs as an assistant in order to get local experience before they could practice in their own field. This point is obligatory to find out how some migrants achieved success in the host country while others were not able to do so. Finally, the question focuses in the private economic sector of the UAE, due to the fact that almost all of the people employed in the public sector are UAE nationals. If the high skilled migrants were accepted as professionals according to the immigration policies of the host countries and then downgraded to lower status and lower paying occupations due to the rejection of their foreign credentials, this automatically exemplifies labour market segmentation, and shows relevance to the assumption that the country where one gets his or her qualification plays a significant role in the deskilling of a high skilled migrant. I suppose to locate more workers from non-Western countries experiencing deskilling than those from Western countries. I wish to determine, from the perspectives of high skilled workers themselves, why companies allow deskilling.
Hence, the aim of this research is to answer the following two questions: “What are the perceptions and coping mechanisms of high skilled labour migrants, within the labour market structures in the private economic sector of UAE? How does the regime of deskilling in the private economic sector of UAE affect migrant workers on an individual level?” In the first chapter I will present the theoretical framework I will be using in order to analyze the relevance of my findings. The first theory explains the importance of
cultural capital in social reproduction, social preference, and construction of the stratification system. The second theory describes the relevance of human capital when it comes to earnings, status and employment. The two final theories, labour market segmentation and dual labour market, will give an explanation of the categorization of certain members of the labour market. In the second chapter I will define who high skilled migrants are according to Nowicka, and how the validation of academic and professional credentials affects perception of the worker about him or herself. The third chapter will present the portability of human capital in order to demonstrate its relevance in deskilling and post-migration experience of high skilled migrants. The fourth chapter will put forward the labour market overview, in order to explain the context in which my research took place. The fifth chapter will outline the regulations and loopholes, when it comes to labour migration procedures and validation of academic and professional skills of migrants. The sixth chapter will define the reasons for deskilling as explained by Sheila Siar and Malit Froilan & Oliver Tchiappep. Finally, in the seventh chapter I will analyze the responses of my participants and demonstrate their relevance to the theoretical framework and literature review in order to answer my research questions.
Methodology
I chose to conduct the proposed study via semi-structured qualitative interviews, in order to assess the experiences of workers within a labour market that is highly dependent on migrant workers Overall there were 15 participants, all of who resided and were employed, or had been employed and were searching for new job opportunities in the Dubai, UAE. Out of fifteen participants, six were female, and nine were male. Two
of the females and one male were not employed in the business free zone, however the rest of the respondents were employed in the business free zone of Dubai. The business free zone is an area of Dubai, where companies are exempted from tax and follow separate regulations. One of female respondents was a CEO of a recruitment company outside of the business free zone, and one of the male respondents was a CEO of an oil transportation company in the business free zone. Two of the interviews were not used, due to irrelevance of the information given for the research question of this thesis. The aim of the interviews was to find out about the workers perceptions on coping strategies, promotions, acknowledgement, wages, negotiations and contracts, in order to analyze their answers and find out if there are grounds for deskilling. The interviews were conducted face to face, in person, within during the month of February 2015 in Dubai. Unfortunately, the interviews were not tape-recorded, however they were typed verbatim.
The interviews began with an open-ended question regarding the workers’ move to the UAE due to work opportunities and directed the rest of the questions towards factors that shaped their socio-economic situation in the UAE, or caused deskilling. None of the questions directly inquired regarding deskilling, discrimination or prejudice. The workers themselves brought up all the opinions regarding the three issues mentioned above. The interviewees were mostly gathered through snowball sampling, from my personal contacts and some were recruited in places of recreation. At the end of each interview I inquired the respondents whether any of their friends or family would qualify for my research, to gather more interviewees through the respondents I already have. The challenging part was to figure out the occupational position of the migrant employees whom I could interview. In the end I decided, to focus on all the high skilled migrants,
who were employed in the private business sector, and had either a complete or incomplete university education.
Chapter 1: Theoretical Framework 1.1. Cultural Capital
When scholars contemplate ‘skilled’ or ‘highly skilled’ migrants, they usually signify foreign-born employees with university instruction who are somewhat at an advantage in the labour market of the destination country. In the frame of reference to migration, the ideas found in Pierre Bourdieu’s theory explains how migrants engage in proving their ‘cultural capital’ in the host country, while utilizing their ethnic belonging, for example, “being from Turkey” (Nowicka, 2014, p.173). According to Bourdieu, cultural capital prevails in three forms: in the embodied state, in the shape of prolonged dispositions of the mind and body; and in the objectified state, in the shape of cultural goods, which show the presence of difficulties in the institutionalized state, a type of objectification that presents absolutely indigenous properties of the cultural capital. The type of capital this thesis will be implementing is the institutionalized form. The skills and academic qualifications fall under the category of institutional capital that workers use in order to prove their capacity to take up a certain position in the labour market. Bourdieu first presented the idea of cultural capital when he talked about different academic attainment arising from the contrasting social classes by recounting academic success; the particular gains which children from contrasting classes and class subdivisions can get in the academic market, to the allocation of cultural capital amongst classes and class fractions (Bourdieu, 1986, p.82).
Bourdieu’s notion of cultural capital will be used in this thesis in order to demonstrate how differences in academic attainment can affect the socio-economic success of a migrant. On the other hand, the embodied capital is a form of independent affluence, which makes up the essential part of the individual, into a habitus, which cannot be transferred immediately as a present or traded (Bourdieu, 1986, p.83). Bourdieu and Jean-Claude Passeron examined how culture and education play a part in social reproduction and expanded the idea of cultural and social preference. The idea of cultural capital has been brought to the U.S. and utilized to explain the construction of the stratification system (Lamont & Lareau, 1988, p.153). Cultural capital has been used as an understanding of high culture and educational achievement. Alternative views look at cultural capital as the module of elite schools, the symbolic proficiency of “practices”, the ability to carry out duties in a culturally appropriate manner, and involvement in high culture affairs. Nonetheless, some scholars look at cultural capital as symbols that are granted based on particular class preferences and the supply of concepts and notions obtained from foregoing experiences. The number of interpretations signifies an indication of mental vigor, and perhaps the fertility of the idea, has produced utter uncertainty. This is a concept that is subject to continued change, while the people utilizing it identify it with ideas as contrasting as human capital, elite culture and high culture (Lamont & Lareau, 1988, p.153).
The idea of cultural capital is significant because it has ameliorated our comprehension of the method by means of which social stratification structures are preserved. Just as Bielby (1981), Cicourel and Mehan (1984), and Knorr-Cetina and Cicourel (1981), stated, the result of social origin on educational and occupational
consequences is one of the frequently considered issues in the sociological scholarly work. Bourdieu and Passeron’s (1979) scholarly work was given a great deal of consideration, initially because it put forward a narrative outlook of the procedure by which social and cultural assets of family life effect academic outcome in an understated and prevalent manner. Bourdieu and Claude Passeron (1979) expanded the idea of cultural capital to examine the effect of culture on the class structure, and on the connection among action and social structure (Lamont & Lareau, 1988, p.154). This thesis will focus on the cultural capital obtained by high skilled workers of different social origins in order to analyze whether there is social stratification within the private sector.
Bourdieu’s and Passeron’s (1979) scholarship on cultural capital proposes that the writers categorize under the idea of cultural capital, various types of cultural views, choices, conduct, and merchandise, and that the idea carries out various roles. In Inheritors, (1979), cultural capital is composed of informal academic standards in addition with class attributes of the presiding class. These qualities and characteristics are informal knowledge about the school, classic humanist culture, linguistic ability and certain attitudes, or distinctive style. In Reproduction, which was also written by Bourdieu and Passeron (1977), the idea keeps its original meaning as academic quality. Nevertheless, cultural capital is reported as incorporating at most linguistic ability, foregoing academic culture, formal knowledge and common culture, as well as certificates. Views regarding school, demeanor and distinctive style, and fondness for high culture are now thought of as class characteristics as opposed to cultural capital (Lamont & Lareau, 1988, p.155). It is necessary to find out whether cultural capital in the
form of linguistic abilities, academic certificates and formal and informal knowledge really put a worker at the top within the social structure of the labour market.
1.2 Human Capital
Another form of capital, which seems necessary for the successful economic integration into the host country, is human capital. Human capital theory has its footing in the writings of the economist Gary Becker. Becke contends that a person’s education, skill level, and other capabilities, which is their human capital, amalgamates with their desires and selection when it comes to earnings, status and employment conditions, notably form their labour market consequences, which is the price of their work. It is supposed that educational certificates and other expertise and capacities have an influence on the types of employment and income immigrants can obtain, and there is important proof to propose that this is the reality (Samers, 2014, p.2). As Becker claims, one cannot detach an individual from his or her expertise, capabilities, but it is feasible to relocate one’s economic and material assets while the possessor remains in the same position (1975, p.16). Becker argues that education and training are significant ventures in human capital. The income of educated individuals is nearly always over the average, in spite of the fact that the profits are normally larger in less developed nations (Becker, 1975, p.17). Human capital investing is inclined to have positive outcomes when it comes to benefits and costs (Becker, 1975, p.18). Human capital analysis presumes that education lifts income and productivity mostly through supplying knowledge, expertise, and a method of examining problems. Nevertheless, a different outlook contradicts that education contributes much to ameliorate productivity, and as an alternative puts too much
importance on educational certificates (Becker, 1975, p.19). Although it logically follows that individuals who have higher education and professional expertise are valued more when it comes to the price of their work, it is necessary to find out whether this is the reality for high skilled migrants.
According to Becker, the most imposing element of one’s human capital is education, because highly educated and skilled people are usually paid more than the less educated and less skilled. This is correct for developed nations, if we were comparing United States with the post-Soviet Union countries. The imbalance in the allocation of income and wages is normally connected to the imbalance in education and instruction (Becker, 1975, p.12). Emotional appeal is made on this issue and individuals who normally approve of education usually disapprove of the term “human capital” and its influence on financial standing. These individuals contend that the connection among income and investing in human capital owes to the capacity to invest in human capital, or to the separation of the most approved categories of people, such as white male college graduates, and to the resulting failure to recognize women, high school graduates, and nonwhites. The relationship between education and financial growth, or between imbalance in education and earnings is ascribed as the result of salary on education, bearing in mind education as consumption good (Becker, 1975, p.12). Becker’s point of view portrays as if the workers who have the capacity to invest in human capital such as education are immune to the possible deskilling processes in the receiving countries.
Looking at the European context, HCT (human capital theory) based analyses, which essentially depends on survey data, have incorporated ‘control variables’ to show how human capital alters throughout time, and how age, gender and degree of parental
education influence labour market consequences for migrants. These consequences could be unemployment, labour force participation or salary level. When real consequences are different in comparison to supposed consequences based on human capital distinctions and restricting for alternative circumstances, scholars call this an ‘immigration wage’ or ‘ethnic penalty’ (Samers, 2013, p.2). I presume that this “immigration wage” and “ethnic penalty” may have an affect on the deskilling processes that occur in the UAE. HCT has been linked to labour market segmentation approach (LMSA) which is the fundamental concept that assesses the connection between what labour market consequences might be, forecasted by immigrants’ human capital and their real consequences on account of ethno-racial, racial, gender and alternative types of discrimination (Samers, 2013, p.2).
1.3 Labour Market Segmentation
As stated by dual labour market hypothesis, the labour market reported as being composed of two parts: a high wage (primary) sector with superior employment conditions, steady employment, and concrete returns to human capital elements such as education, experience and low-wage (secondary) sector with the contrasting attributes (Dickens, Lang, 1988, p.129). As suggested by Ryan (1981), segmentation proposes a process, specifically, the categorization and separation of various categories of members in the labour market, which is captured by the ideas of non-competing groups or by exercising apartheid. Certain economists think that segmentation is the product of a result of categorization. Segmentation becomes fascinating when it prompts the failure of the labour market to behave toward its members fairly; hence it gives notably contrasting
chances and payoffs to similar individuals. The purpose of such a labour market separates greatly from the competitive structure. The significance of this contrast among procedures and product is emphasized by the vast interpretation by two most important analysis of segmentationism, that the method is to be commended for enhancing our illustrative comprehension of procedures in the labor market, or that it does not possess anything novel to demonstrate the results and it is unsuccessful as a distinguishable theory of labour (Wilkinson & Ryan, 1981, p.4). As stated previously, this thesis focuses solely on the primary sector, but it is nevertheless important to point out that there is still segmentation happening within this particular sector. There is a need to investigate whether there is categorization and segmentation of certain groups of workers, and what the criterion for this separation is.
Segmentation can apply its impact at diverse phases of the human life cycle. Appropriating from the scholarly work on discrimination, a significant contrast should be constructed among segmentation, which takes place prior to admission into the labour market and which takes place during periods of activity in the labour market. Pre-market segmentation designates the distinction of chances to increase an individual’s productive capabilities by means of education and formal instruction before beginning work. In-market segmentation designates the following and additional distinction of chances within the market, chances both to increase an individual’s productive capabilities, by means of on the job instruction and to be attributed a higher-ranking cost for his or her work. Pre-market segmentation is connected to social stratification. Certain people go into the labour market with discrete benefits when it comes to knowledge, expertise and viewpoints favorable to prosperity. These abilities include, the family and the educational
institutions, entrance to which is noticeably distinguished based on such social circumstances as social class, race and sex. Economists of broadly contrasting opinions indentified the significance of this pre-market segmentation (Wilkinson & Ryan, 1981, p.4). Pre-market segmentation can be treated as the distinct opportunities for various types of migrants when it comes to locating a job in the UAE, whereas in-market segmentation can be looked at the position that a migrant worker acquires and his or her salary level.
Labour market segmentation is the focal point of the classical ideas of the labour market and is a sequence of non-competing categories, such as the education, instruction, and contacts which, depending on the job-related conditions, conserve its market chances from the consequences of competition from the lower layer. Additionally education acts as a representative of the reproduction of social inequality that carries on the pre-market feature of segmentation. Nevertheless, assumption of the pertinence of pre-market segmentation is not, limited to economists who embrace egalitarian or left wing values. Hence, Becker, for instance, argues that the market for human capital is very segmented, a reality which is portrayed by wage inequality Pre-market segmentation, is seen as the root of imbalance in income, due to preference for certain capabilities and dispositions. In-market segmentation symbolizes the extension of such distinction in opportunities into the market. It takes place when people of similar attainment are given varying admission to work or occupation rewards, incorporating both salary rates and opportunities for instruction, skill and salary growth (Wilkinson & Ryan, 1981, p.4). The social inequality that takes place due to pre-market and in-market segmentation, can be understood as
deskilling, which includes devaluation of an individual in terms of salary and occupation in the private sector of the UAE.
The agreement among economists regarding the pertinence of segmentation disappears when we proceed from the pre- to the in-market stage. When dualist and fundamental scholars declare the significance of segmentation, they are considering the in-market, not solely the pre-market, classification. Meanwhile, conventional theorist admit to some degree the pertinence of market capacity and discrimination when examining labour markets, but are simultaneously inclined to look at these effects as transitory anomalies in a crucially competitive market. Hence, Becker, in his examination of the requirements in the same market for human capital, regards variance in personal capabilities as the main source of distinction in a person’s potential salary level. He does, as expected, allocate a part to elements decidedly characteristic of in-market segmentation: ‘some variation in opportunities, such as discrimination and favoritism (Wilkinson & Ryan, 1981, p.4). This thesis will focus on investigating whether segmentation that leads to deskilling occurs due to discrimination of any kind, or simply to nepotism.
Not every employee certified for primary sector jobs who wishes to obtain one will be able to receive it. The certified candidates who do not obtain the primary sector jobs that they desire are therefore deskilled. The part of the labour market in which a person is working immediately affects his or her desires, behaviour, and cognitive capacities. Hence, the dual labour market representation, which can also be looked at as a segmented labour market framework, asserts a deviation from the standard neoclassical supposition of completely rational actors (Dickens, Lang, 1988, p.129). One of the
elements of labour market segmentation is the wage allocation. Hence, deskilling can be analyzed by looking at the wages of the high skilled workers, in comparison to other workers who take up the same position. Dual labour market model is carried out better than a single labour market replica, and it is complete. The standard single labour market model calculates a log wage problem on its own, and presumes that the outcome of education, experience and other elements is indistinguishable for all people. This model demonstrates a weak representation of the wage distribution. On the other hand, the dual labour market model presumes that wages are dependent on sector people who are working in. There is a high salary sector with inferior returns to the variables such as education and experience (Dickens, Lang, 1988, p.130). In order to test the theoretical framework of segmented labour market in the context of the UAE, it is necessary to find out about the perceptions of high skilled workers regarding wage allocation. Difference in salary level can indicate deskilling within the private sector, regardless of the level of education, experience and other types of human capital. The presumption of this thesis is that there are inferior returns to the variables such as education and experience for certain migrant workers within the private sector itself, hence the objective will be to find out which factors may lead to inferior returns on human capital.
Chapter 2: Who are Skilled Migrants? 2.1 Skilled Workers
Nowicka (2014) aims to define the idea of a skilled worker, and outline factors that shape the notion of skills. Throughout my research it will be necessary to look at both the definition of the skilled worker, the academic and professional experience of the
migrant, as well as the perception of the migrant about him or herself as a skilled or unskilled worker. The author argues that the way skills are explained, acquired and valorized in the home country affect how immigrants mobilize them in the host society and how they perceive their possibilities for negotiating powerful positions in the labour market of the receiving country. Many professionals who relocate within the networks of corporations and international organizations are freed from nation-state commitment, because of the demand for technical skills. These migrants have transitionally effective forms of cultural capital (Nowicka, 2014, p.171). Nowicka argues that the space of origin of migrant’s skill acquirement and legitimization during migration should be taken into consideration just as much as their space of destination (Nowcka, 2014, p.172). Nowicka uses the theory of cultural capital to explain how the European Union uses tools such as acknowledgement of education and professional documents to create a system for the free mobility of skills (Nowicka, 2014, p.171).
2.2 Cultural Capital and Skilled Workers
In the circumstances of skilled migration, Bourdieu’s theory demonstrates how migrants enthusiastically prove their “cultural capital” abroad, by utilizing their ethnic affiliation, through social networks, inter-ethnic connections, as an asset in the areas of labour market of the host country (Nowicka, 2014, p.174). Additionally, in her research, Nowicka also presents opinions of various scholars regarding cultural capital; for example, Devine, (2004) who states that the process of approval of cultural capital is not simple and necessitates achievement, while Dumais (2002) claims that we need to think about skills that are a component of an individual’s habitus to comprehend the difference
in the acknowledgment of cultural capital (Nowicka, 2014, p.174). Polish migrant in the UK are inclined to take on work in low-skilled and low salary occupations although they possess a high level of education. Clark and Drinkwater (2008) and Drinkwater et al. (2009), put an emphasis on salary equations, and contend that Polish laborers are at a specific drawback, due to the fact that they possess lower rates of return to their human capital in comparison to other new immigrants, specifically after controlling for individual and job-related attributes. This perhaps points to the fact that these newcomers are afflicted by a notable incompatibility when it comes to their expertise and salary. Newcomers who are embedded in transnational social fields manage their actions according to both, host society and society of origin, and with a propensity to form the opinion of their social position based on the regulations of both communities. Hence, the constitution and the price of expertise are required to be thought about as a component of a personal social trajectory (Nowicka, 2014, p.175).
2.3 Relevance of Education
According to Nowicka, the socio-economic circumstances in Poland, where the newcomers obtain their schooling and receive their first labour market skills, shape the first position in which newcomers discuss the value of their expertise. The method in which expertise is discussed in these circumstances has an affect on how newcomers negotiate the expertise they are convinced are of value to possible managers. Hence, the opportunity structures and the newcomers’ personal perception of his or her assets control precisely how their expertise is proved. Nowicka’s research is focused on the strategies that newcomers initiate when challenged with devaluation of expertise. High skilled
workers in Poland were not ready to relocate to big Polish urban centers to look for jobs there and easily made a decision to move to the United Kingdom, usually motivated by their friends who by that time possessed employment ‘on the Isles’ (Nowicka, 2014, p.176).
2.4 Education vs. Experience
The participants of Nowicka’s research emphasized that they had a degree in a specific subject because they were curious about it and not because they believed it would present them with any financial benefit in the labour market. One of her respondents specified that he took some courses in sociology and administration, but was convinced that neither the expertise obtained in additional courses nor the diploma he would obtain would aid him in obtaining a job. Therefore, it appears that the respondent considered himself to be educated but not experienced. The accounts on futile higher education supply proof of the strain between traditional educational models and the labour market adaptation which the participants perceived and which is intrinsic in the contemporary Polish higher education system (Nowicka, 2014, 177). Unemployment levels among these people are low due to the fact that the majority of them keep their jobs in the same firm or sector following graduation. Due to economic restructuring and alteration in the labour supply, students are now employed in a broader range of occupations than in the past. Additionally, in Poland, the vocational particularity of the education systems can be found at the secondary level. Tertiary schooling is less employment particular, a tendency observed all over Europe. It supplies students with common expertise, which may initially place them at a disadvantage compared to school drop outs when they attempt to locate their initial work, but it may ameliorate their
possibilities of remaining at the job later, a reality usually overlooked by students going into the labour market, incorporating the participants’ subjective recognition (Nowicka, 2014, p.178).
Chapter 3: The Portability of Human Capital 3.1 Relevance of Expertise
The implication of human capital portability – incorporating education, linguistic capabilities, and pre- and post-immigration job-related correspondence, is necessary when migrants settle in countries such as Canada. Considering the significance of job-related particular expertise, Goldman et. al (2011) inquire into job-job-related mobility and notice a connection between the job-related expertise distributions of the native population, in spite of the fact that four years following arrival immigrants are less likely to possess a high skilled occupation. Immigrants who are capable of finding a job that matches their origin and host country qualifications get higher salaries. Nevertheless, neither matching nor linguistic abilities are seen as an advantage in pre-migration skills, which is noticed to be statistically negative. The English language abilities are established to possess a considerable effect on salary and to moderate the return to pre-immigration education but not labour market skills (Goldman, et al., 2011, p.1).
3.2 Origins of Expertise
Rachel Friedberg (2000) argues that the national origin of a person’s human capital is a vital part of its value. Schooling and labour market skills obtained abroad are notably less respected than human capital acquired in the host country. This distinction
can describe the salary drawback of newcomers comparative to locals in Israel. Difference in the return to foreign education across origin nations can explain the distinction in its standard and similarity with the host labour market. The return to foreign skills is usually trivial. Obtaining extra schooling after immigration seems to be an advantage by increasing the return to schooling obtained in the foreign country. When coming to the host country, newcomers generally receive lower salary than native employees with similar measured attributes (Friedberg, 2000, p.221).
3.3 Labour Market Consequences
It is not uncommon that when newcomers arrive to Canada, European states and the U.S., they have normally encounter difficulties within the labour market in comparison to native citizens. Various connections to this gap have been recognized under a theme of the portability of human capital. Pre-immigration labour market expertise, education and native linguistic capabilities have all been displayed to be pertinent to the downward mobility, with the portability of these expertise being of specific pertinence for nations that have high skilled immigration policies, such as Canada’s points system. Goldman et al. used Canadian data that tracked new immigrants following their arrival; they explored these elements with an emphasis on their communication with origin and host nation’s occupational correspondence. Schaafsma and Sweetman (2001), and Ferrer and Riddel (2008) have established that, on average, newcomers are given lower returns to pre-Canadian years of education than those whose education was acquired in Canada (Goldman, et al., 2011, p.1). Friedberg also argues that when newcomers come to the host country, they are at a drawback in the labour
market compared to natives with similar demographic attributes and regular expertise levels. One cause is that natives possess country specific expertise and information that immigrants do not have. As newcomers spend time in the receiving state and slowly obtain this country specific understanding, their labour market production may improve in comparison to that of the native citizens. The percentage at which the income gap among newcomers and native diminishes with years since migration is mentioned as the assimilation rate (Friedberg, 2000, p.223).
3.4 Linguistic Capabilities
A similarly related problem is the consequence of language capabilities and literacy skills. These have a direct consequence on labour market outcomes, and may have an incidental outcome by moderating the utilization of foreign human capital in the Canadian sphere (Goldman, et al., 2011, p.2). Ferrer et al. (2006) conducted a study on English or French literacy skills and established that immigrants are given returns comparable to those of the Canadian born citizens, but have subordinate literacy levels. Nevertheless, they did not locate any effect from controlling for literacy skills on the returns to labour market skills. A credibly pertinent matter when bearing in mind the economic return to pre-immigration human capital is the mobility of occupation-specific expertise. Connected to this, expertise is bunched with occupations, together with the value of skill/seniority (Goldman, et al., 2011, p.2).
When we focus on newcomers who claim academic training preliminary to a job that is permitted in Canada, we notice growth in the salary level, however for the men the salary advantage is first and foremost for those with high English expertise. Newcomers
whose pre-immigration job was in a profession that is controlled in Canada get a considerable advantage if they coordinate with pre and post-immigration jobs. All of the results presented in Goldman et al. research are for a sample of all newcomers, however they center on those allowed to enter under the points system, which is significant of matching jobs, in spite of the fact that their sample is too compact to tackle a comprehensive inspection. More importantly, they were able to notice that corresponding the host country, and the deliberate occupation are identically advantageous. Their discoveries stress the significance of language both on its own and for its part in moderating the value of schooling that an immigrant received before immigration. Furthermore, their research, stresses on the significance of language instruction as a component of the immigrant settlement procedure (Goldman, Sweetman, &Warman, 2011, p.20).
3.5 Domestic Human Capital
The return to domestic human capital for newcomers can contrast with the return acquired by natives. Natives have a benefit in linguistic and other country specific understanding, which can allow them to obtain more efficiency increasing expertise from formal instruction or labor skills. However, time spent at an educational institution or work in the host country has advantages for newcomers because in addition to obtaining the human capital commonly related with education and skills, newcomers obtain linguistic skills, acquire a knowledge of domestic institutions and conventions. The income of more and less skilled newcomers may be compact when coming to the host country, with the two groups compelled to be employed in low-skilled occupations that
necessitate little linguistic skills or other country specific human capital. As time goes by, as they obtain access to the new labour market, newcomers are able to increase the return to their origin country expertise by means of some kind of knowledge. These incorporate knowledge gained through work, gathering more details regarding host labour market, and hunting for better income opportunities and work. Consequently, newcomers can slowly categorize themselves into more distinguished jobs, due to the rise in expertise differences between newcomers with labour market skills in the host country (Friedberg, 2000, p.226).
3.6 Cross Country Complications
Newcomers who obtain post-immigration occupations that are similar to their pre-immigration ones, perhaps, have more successful labour market results than those who do not, and possibly have considerable prosperity in transferring their human capital. Naturally, in the immigration circumstances there are cross-country complications concerning dissimilarity in the nature of jobs and industries, and, language skills matters that strengthen the successful utilization of expertise in the host country labour market. Green inspects immigrant job-related integration and inscribes corresponding immigrants’ actual job, proclaiming as deliberate in the application procedure. Although the effect of origin country occupational incumbency and corresponding origin and host country jobs are not well accepted, it appears to be probable that job-related human capital obtained before immigration will be of considerable lower worth if an immigrant is incompetent to find employment in the similar job in the host country (Goldman et al., 2011, p.3).
3.7 Salary Gap
Scholarly work has centered on the amount of this primary salary distinctions and the percentage at which it decreases with time after migration. The problem is whether newcomers ever achieve salary equality with the natives, and, if this is so, how much time does this process require. A similar issue is how the salary gap contrasts for newcomers from various countries and distinct arrival units. Friedberg discusses the difference among human capital obtained in the foreign country and human capital obtained in the host country. Foreign and host country human capital may not be similar replacements. The majority of newcomers finish their education in their home countries. Nevertheless, the majority immigrates earlier in life and acquires approximately all their human capital following immigration. A considerable amount owns both, foreign and domestic human capital. Hence, in spite of the fact that foregoing scholarly work on immigrant and native salaries has permitted the return to human capital to contrast for immigrants and natives, doing this, is not equal to differentiating among domestic and foreign source human capital in the examination of income determination. Friedberg’s study shows that the most significant element controlling the gap in the standard human capital corrected income for newcomers and native is the source of their human capital. Foreign human capital usually, but not continually, is paid less than domestic human capital, and this detail by itself is enough to completely describe the remaining income drawback for newcomers (Friedberg, 2000, p.222).
3.8 Factors that Diminish Salary Gap
Goldman et al (2011) found that the restricted portability and pertinence of pre-immigration human capital are significant factors to the low earning results of new immigrants in majority of developed countries. Utilizing data that recognizes immigrant source country job and schooling, together with language expertise and post-immigration job, Goldman et al. elaborated on the foregoing scholarly work by investigating the common consequences of these elements for salary. Newcomers in Canada are extremely probable to be employed in high skilled jobs before immigration, but after immigration the level of high skilled jobs is considerably beneath the population average, even though the expertise level grows quickly in the following years. This also depends on the immigrants’ intent to change jobs post-migration, with considerable contrast being noticed among source country job-related skills, and deliberate job after arrival. In addition, considerable gaps are noticed among pre-immigration, intended, and post-immigration job (Goldman et al., 2011, p.19).
When investigating rates of return to weekly salary, growing durations of possible labour skills are related with statistically significantly subordinate, not higher, salary. This discovery implies that income decreases as age increases at immigration. The years of education and English linguistic expertise are both related with higher salary; nevertheless French linguistic skills have a positive effect on labour market success for women. Besides, the return to schooling is self-effacing and at most noticed to be statistically significant for those who coordinate with their pre- and post-immigration job or possess high levels of English capacity. Hence, language expertise have become
pivotal in moderating the utilization of formal schooling in the Canadian labour market, and this perhaps is the instance in majority of developed nations (Goldman et al., 2011, p.19).
An increase with time from the point of migration in the return to education acquired in the foreign country is meaningfully equal to a speedy assimilation rate for better-schooled newcomers. Friedberg also supposes that income increases for more knowledgeable newcomers because the gap among their initial and possible job-related status is greater (Friedberg, 2000, p.226). A successful manner in which newcomers can acquire expertise needed to modify their formerly obtained instruction to their host country may be by acquiring additional formal schooling following entry. Enrolling at an educational institution in the host country may help in the transferability of a newcomers’ human capital by supplying him or her the language skills required to literally explain his or her expertise (Friedberg, 2000, p.227).
3.9 Relevance of context
Goldman and Friedberg focused on countries such as Canada and United States, where the labour market structure and economic integration of migrant workers is very distinct to that of the GCC states. Friedberg’s (2000) findings indicate that human capital obtained in a foreign country is less valuable in comparison to human capital in the host country, although in the UAE this is not the case. When it comes to education, the diploma obtained in the UAE does not put a migrant worker into an advantage when compared to a diploma obtained from another developed country, such as United Kingdom, Unites States or Canada. UAE is a country that predominantly recruits foreign
labour force to develop the private sector, and majority of the employers in this sector are foreigners themselves, therefore they usually do not look for workers with educational diplomas from the UAE. The employers may look for work experience in the UAE, depending on the job that the migrant worker is applying for. If we look at linguistic capabilities, English appears to be the main language of operations in the private sector, and Arabic is a bonus. However, in Canada and the United States, the native language of the county would be an essential skill needed to obtain a job.
Although there are differences when it comes to the portability of human capital in Canada, United States and the GCC countries, there are also some similarities. The migrant workers in the UAE are also placed in a subordinate position in the labour market when compared to native citizens, just like in the United States and Canada. In the UAE majority of native citizens are employed in the public sector and they get paid five or ten times higher than the migrant workers who are employed in the private sector. In fact, migrant workers cannot be employed in the public sector, because it is completely reserved for Emirates, however, an Emirate can apply for a job in the private sector. The immigrant’s ability to obtain a job in his or her field of expertise would lead to higher labour market returns regardless of the labour market structure of a country.
Chapter 4: Labour Market Structure of the UAE 4.1 Public-Native vs. Private-Expat
As labor importing, asset wealthy economies, the GCC states have several structural similarities; e.g. low total involvement and work percentages of nationals and the utmost segmentation of the labour market, mainly public/private and
national/immigrant labour (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.12). Specifically, Kuwait and the UAE possess a small working-age population that depends almost completely on government employment. As opposed to native employees, a lot of expats work in the private sector. Also, expats have superior labour market skills and their employment positioning is more pliable. This existing national/expat differentiation within the public and private sectors has played a role in strengthening the segmentation, which caused extreme discrepancies among jobs in the two sectors. When it comes to skilled jobs, native employees usually do not have the necessary practical expertise to carry out the necessary tasks. Native schooling has hardly been altered over the last ten years, keeping long-established religious doctrines; university students barely achieve the required expertise, especially in humanities and social sciences education (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.15).
According to the statistics from the year 2003, in Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE, the private sector almost only employed migrant laborers (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.16). Around 28.5% of immigrants live in the UAE for more than a decade. Hence, it may be useful to examine the non-permanence of labour immigration in the UAE, because living in a country for more than a decade cannot be perceived as short-term labour migration. There is a valid ground to suppose that even though many of the GCC foreign workers are non-permanent single migrants, there is a big minority that is residing with family (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.32). Expats and any entitled dependants are given a residence visa for the amount of years specified in the work contract, which often lasts for two years, although they are renewable, which supplies a level of stability. Near the end of the 1970s economic reverberation, a majority of the GCC states decided to be stricter when it
comes to their methods to immigration, giving more consideration to racial and religious problems (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.37).
4.2 Management of Migrant Workers
The expanded responsiveness to the existence of very substantial expat communities in the district aggravated by the reality that a large part of immigrant laborers were from various Arab states such as Egypt, Yemen and Palestine. Due to dropping oil prices, employers began to hire less-skilled Asian immigrant labourers. The 1990s Gulf War indicated a conclusive new stage in immigration administration in the Gulf with the expulsion of nearly two million Arab employees and their families from the district. Hence, the recruitment of Asian employees began, with yearly inflows from Asia of 1.1-1.3 million, the majority of which came from India and the Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Pakistan. In addition, the second Gulf War guided to mass removal of Iraqis and citizens of states compassionate to Iraq, around 1.5 million were dislodged, incorporating one million to Yemen (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.37).
In the UAE, the number of labour migrants exceeds that of indigenous workers within the UAE labour market, calculated to be 7.2 million of the UAE’s population. Specifically, the UAE has a special policy for employing temporary foreign workers in the UAE. According to Article 10 of the Federal Law No. 10, it is declared that “in the event of non-availability of national workers, preference shall b given to: 1. Arab workers who are nationals of an Arab country. [Followed by] workers of other nationalities’ (Froilan & Tchiapep, 2013, p.14). Owing to their linguistic Arabic capabilities, a majority of Arab labour migrants are prone to possess an advantage during labour
recruitment. Western labour migrants, however, are mostly segmented in high skilled labour market, and usually have high income as opposed to other labour migrants. Indians and Filipinos have built a labour market niche in the UAE (Froilan & Tchiapep, 2013, p.14). Specifically, Indians are mainly employed in specific sectors, such as human resource management. Filipinos also control some sectors, specifically in domestic work, retail and construction (Froilan & Tchiapep, 2013, p.15).
The initial years of nonintervention labour immigration to the GCC were altered in the 1970s by stricter management and rules in the administration of immigration across the GCC. When governments became more worried regarding the permanent resident immigrant employees, formal procedures became more controlled. It is important to note that market power is more forceful than state ability to coerce complicated and pricy bureaucratic regulations and processes. In the 1990s more efforts were implemented to preserve regulations by controlling the actions of the recruitment companies for migrant work. In the last ten years, two other elements lead to the compelling improvement of immigration regulation in the GCC: global attention to human rights problems and labour standards for migrants’ jobs, and demographic alterations in the native GCC inhabitants, which caused the growth of unemployment and sizable political coercion (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.41). In 1985, the GCC implemented The Statement on Objectives and Policies of Development, which summoned for the rectification of the population disparity, according to which the levels of immigrants is lessened, make it constant with the economic needs (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.42). None of the GCC states have implemented any notable policy alterations attending to the circumstances of their long-term and second-generation migrants since the moderate alterations in citizenship law of
Saudi Arabia. An additional tendency in all GCC states has been to prohibit immigrant labourers in certain sectors completely (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.43).
4.3 Management of Native Workers
When it comes to native workers in the private sector, the quota regulations were recognized, behaving towards them as a tax, nevertheless, as the quota levels were progressively raised, companies withstood them (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.45). Private sector employers protested regarding the absence of vocational instruction of national labourers, their lack of fundamental educational expertise, and their limited responsibility to their job. Al-Kibsi et al. (2007) quotes a survey of employers in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which demonstrated that a quarter of national workers did not show up for their jobs daily, and majority of them left their employment after several months, declaring that they were tedious. Companies have several ways to cope with the quota regulations. One method is through discussing terms with state authorities for extra migrant employees, another is to hire national ‘ghost workers’ to fill the quota, however, require that they remain at home, and the third is to utilize ‘ghost companies’ to obtain migrant employees irregularly (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.46).
Avoidance of quota duties is perceived as a regular component of performing business in the GCC (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.46). The UAE has one sector with a large amount of national employees, and that sector is public administration (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.47). The common traits in all GCC states are that all of them depend on the sponsorship system of temporary labourers and all have established that it was unsuccessful. In the GCC states, there is a notable minority of long-term permanent
residents, together with a notable amount of second-generation migrants. There is a political unwillingness to take care of the delicate problem of permanent foreign residents in states where immigrants exceed the native inhabitants (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.49).
4.4 Free Economic Zones or Business Free Zones
The labour and immigration law vary between the Emirates, due to the federal system. Abu Dhabi depends on unskilled Asian workers, whereas Dubai draws skilled westerners into its Free Economic Zones. Free Economic Zones are areas such as Jumeirah Lake Towers, where foreign companies, under the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, are free from quota requirements (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.57). Because Dubai is the heart of global business activity, from electronics commerce to fashion and design, combined with its business free zone standing, a majority of Cameroonian high skilled migrants have been attracted to work as global entrepreneurs in the UAE. Consequently, this has lead to a large-scale migration of Sub-Saharan African entrepreneurs, incorporating some from Cameroon, who usually look for employment, while they simultaneously run their private business in Cameroon (Froilan & Tchiapep, 2013, p.11).
4.5 Nationalization Policies
Nevertheless, because of the global financial crisis Dubai has undergone financial downturn due to its dependence on external financing. As documented, the standard of human capital in the UAE is not high, even though it is the GCC state with the poor labour market data and it is hard to assess. As stated by Shaham (2009), the UAE has been the settler of nationalization quota policies for the higher levels of employment of
indigenous inhabitants in the private sector. It has also implemented compelling policies, such as tax on proprietors for non-diversity of migrants hired, imposing of payment for health insurance of migrants and degree approval fees, and the establishment of feasible areas of employment for indigenous workers (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.57). However, nationalization policies are aimed at occupational development for indigenous workers, rather than substitution of the essential migrant workers (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.58).
All GCC countries have had extremely segmentation of their labour markets due to their immigration policies, and the formation of high paid secured employment for nationals in the public sector, causing overstaffing, low efficiency, and shunning of private sector low salary jobs. Nonetheless, all GCC states worry regarding the amount of expertise of their national labour force, decisively affecting their chances of getting hired in the private sector. All of the GCC states have began some kind of nationalization programme, with different methods across the GCC states. The general nationalization regulations are: the shutting of specific sectors to immigrant labourers, the deportation of irregular labourers, and policies trying to expand the employability and jobs for the national inhabitants. Employment quotas for indigenous population are utilized as a means of nationalization (Baldwin-Edwards, 2011, p.50). It is possible to connect labour market segmentation and the natonalization policy in the UAE to Bauder’s framework of deskilling, or what he expresses as ‘job devaluation’ as a plan of host states to maintain the social order. Bauder discerns the labour market as a place of class reproduction, with the receiving state performing at it’s finest to preserve the supremacy of the native residents by putting aside the best occupations to them. He considers deskilling as an
organized form of marginalization of migrants meant to preserve the prevailing power structure. Presenting his outlook in “Labour movement: how migration regulates labour markets” (2006), Bauder describes that the divisions forced by receiving states on who should have admission to opportunities specifically the occupations in the higher levels, and who should be refused admission to, is a method of reproducing the prevailing structure of society (Siar 2013, p.9). In formulating his intuitions of immigrant labour segmentation, Bauder adopts Bordieu’s idea of capital and the concept of identifying capital as all kinds of power, from which people and groups can extract a diversity of assets to preserve or increase their location in the social order. Specifically, Bauder uses the idea of cultural capital by centering on how it functions in the social reproduction within is a society formulated of native and migrant employees (Siar 2013, p.9).
Chapter 5: Regulations and Loopholes 5.1 A Large Flow of Migrant Workers
Nasra Shah (2008) demonstrates that shortly after the discovery of oil, the country underwent a shift in their power dynamics, which may be responsible for the anomalies in the labour market. In the last thirty years, immigrants have outnumbered citizens in some of the Gulf Cooperation countries, including the UAE. Throughout 1970s and 1980s, substantial scale migration of “guest” workers began as a reaction to the price of oil, resulting in the fast growth of the GCC countries. When it comes to the labour force, migrant workers constituted nearly half of each GCC state in the year 2000. In 2005, the total GCC population was 35.8 million with labour migrants amounting to 12.8 million (Shah 2008, p.1). . Shah provides information about the affects of policies on the migrant
workers in the GCC countries, which can help answer, some of the concerns regarding deskilling or the migrants’ subordinate position within multinational companies (Shah, 2008, p.2).
In 2005, the incorporated GCC population reached 35.8 million, with migrant workers amounting to 12.8 million. It was roughly calculated that if the expatriate population continued to grow at the current rate, it might extend to 18 million in ten years. In the UAE, immigrants make up 71% of the 4.5 million inhabitants and 98% of the private sector occupations. The proceeding prevalence of immigrant labourers in the population and work force of the GCC states has been taking place alongside different policies to control and take charge of this type of migration. A common policy pointed at reducing the number of expatriate laborers has been at hand for several years. This common policy was put into force and executed by means of different tools throughout the mid 1990s. Shah’s objective is to highlight the most important policies and discuss various social and economic elements that may enable or hamper their successful execution. A significant cause for the growing vigorous and dynamic execution of policies to lessen migration is the growing rates of unemployment in the GCC states. A significant ground for the regulative policies is the growing rate of unemployment of nationals and this has brought up hard economic and political inquiry for the GCC administration (Shah, 2008, p.2).
5.2 Measures of Control
Despite the unemployment difficulties of the UAE nationals, expatriates have aided the fast development of the infrastructure as well as institutional growth in the Gulf
