International migration for employment and domestic labour market development:: the jordanian experience.

Abstract

Following a review and evaluation of previous research in the field of international migration for employment, it is argued that the extent to which such migration is beneficial depends critically on how it is organized and by whom. The development of Jordan's traditional image as a regional labour supplier is traced from the early twentieth century and is explained largely in terms of a response to repeated economic and political crises. A case study of the Kuwait labour market is used to demonstrate the recent (post-1978) collapse in Jordanian labour migration and to establish the changing character of the international labour market. The central role assumed by international emigration for employment in the Jordanian economy and the problems; and policy constraints which that places on labour market management are illustrated. An attempt is made to identify scarce skills and to assess the development and utility of the government's policy response towards labour shortages. The scale and characteristics of labour inflows into the Jordanian labour market are established. This reveals the complex role of immigrant workers in an emigrant economy and demonstrates the need for a substantial revision of the 'replacement' labour migration model. The parallel themes of primary labour emigration and secondary labour immigration are explored in a detailed case study of local labour markets and agricultural development in the East Jordan Valley. A concluding chapter summarises the problems of manpower planning and of labour market information: gathering under conditions of heightened uncertainty.