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Employment and Development in six Poor Arab States: Syria, Jordan, Sudan, South Yemen, Egypt, and North Yemen

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2009

J. S. Birks  and
C. A. Sinclair
J. S. Birks
Affiliation:
Durham, United Kingdom
C. A. Sinclair
Affiliation:
Durham, United Kingdom
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Extract

The Arab region is generally thought of as wealthy, being the recipient of a large income from oil. In reality, oil wealth is confined to a small minority of states and peoples; most of the region's population are poor.

This paper discusses the employment pattern and future problems of the six poorest countries of the Arab region: Syria, Jordan, Sudan, South Yemen (Peoples' Democratic Republic of Yemen), Egypt, and North Yemen (Yemen Arab Republic).

Type
Articles
Information
International Journal of Middle East Studies , Volume 14 , Issue 1 , February 1982 , pp. 35 - 51
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

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References

NOTES

Authors' note: Views expressed in this paper do not necessarily represent those of the International Labour Office (Geneva) nor of any other organisation with which the authors have been or are associated. The authors alone are responsible for what is written here.

1 Makhlouf, C., Changing Veils: A Study of Women in North Yemen (London: Croom Helm, 1979);Google ScholarMinces, J., “La Femme dans le Monde Arabe,” Espirit (Paris), 22 (1978),Google ScholarWarnock, E., Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak (Austin: University of Texas, 1978);Google ScholarYoussef, N. H., Women and Work in Developing Countries (Connecticut, 1977).Google Scholar

2 Kanouski, E., Economic Development of Syria (Tel Aviv: University Publishing Projects, 1977).Google Scholar

3 World Bank, Yemen Arab Republic: Development of a Traditional Economy (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1979).Google Scholar

4 Kanouski, (1977);Google ScholarWorld Bank (1979);Google ScholarMazur, M. P., Economic Growth and Development in Jordan (London: Croom Helm, 1979);Google ScholarILO, Growth, Employment and Equity: A Comprehensive Strategy for the Sudan (Geneva: ILO, 1976);Google ScholarSayigh, Y. A., The Economies of the Arab World (London: Croom Helm, 1978);Google ScholarBirks, J. S. and Sinclair, C. A., Arab Manpower: The Crisis of Development (London: Croom Helm, 1980).Google Scholar

5 Sales, M., “Country Case Study: Syrian Arab Republic,” International Migration Project Working Paper (Durham University: Economics Department, 1979), mimeograph.Google Scholar

6 Din, M. J., Migrants Abroad (Khartoum: Economic and Social Research Council, 1978).Google Scholar

7 For a more extensive discussion of Egypt see Birks, J. S. and Sinclair, C. A., Human Capital on the Nile: Development and Emigration in the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Democratic Republic of the Sudan, World Employment Programme Research Working Paper (Geneva: ILO, 1978).Google Scholar

8 This point is elaborated in Sinclair, C. A. and Socknat, J. A., “Migration for Employment Abroad and Its Impact on Development in the Yemen Arab Republic,” International Migration Project Topic Paper (Durham University: Economics Department, 1979), pp. 38–49, mimeograph.Google Scholar

9 Readers interested in this field may wish to consult ILO, International Recommendations on Labour Statistics (Geneva; ILO, 1976).Google Scholar

10 Sethuraman, S. V., “The Urban Informal Sector: Concept, Measurement and Policy,” International Labour Review (Geneva) 114 (1976), 69–83.Google Scholar

11 Evidence for this phenomenon in rural Egypt is given in Lee, E. and Radwan, S., The Anatomy of Rural Poverty: Egypt, 1977 (Geneva: ILO, 1980).Google Scholar

12 The idea of a “vicious circle of personal poverty” is discussed with reference to contemporary Cairo in Birks, J. S. and Sinclair, C. A., “Egypt: A Frustrated Labour Exporter,” Middle East Journal (Washington), 33, 3 (1979), 288–303.Google Scholar

13 It is often difficult to comprehend the quality of an existence of this kind. Idris, Yusuf (The Cheapest Nights [London: Peter Owen, 1978] provides one indication in an Arab environment.Google Scholar

14 See Birks, J. S. and Sinclair, C. A., Migration and Development in the Arab Region (Geneva: ILO, 1980).Google Scholar

15 Birks and Sinclair, Arab Manpower, chap. 20.

16 Note that the World Bank in World Development Report 1979 (Washington: World Bank, 1979) estimates an increased number of persons working and living on the land in low income countries.Google Scholar

17 One exception to the general argument put forward here is the possibility that as a consequence of the Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel, the former country demobilize the army.

18 Syria, Ministry of Planning, Fourth Five- Year Economic and Social Development Plan, 1976 to 1980 (Damascus: Arab Office for Press Documentation, 1977);Google ScholarJordan, National Planning Council, Five Year Plan 1976 to 1980 (Amman: National Planning Council, 1976);Google ScholarSudan, Ministry of Planning, The Six Year Social and Economic Development Plan for the Republic of the Sudan 1977/78 to 1982/83 (Khartoum, Ministry of Planning, n.d.) (Arabic);Google ScholarYemen Arab Republic, Central Planning Organisation, The First Five-Year Plan 1976/77 to 1980/81 (Sana⊂a, Central Planning Organisation, 1977) (Arabic).Google Scholar

19 Prominent in the field of research into the informal sector is the World Employment Programme research under the “Technology and Employment, and, Urbanisation and Employment programmes of the International Labour Office, Geneva.” Recently, the World Bank has shown an appreciation of the relevance of the informal sector to their lending activities (Linn, J. F., Policies for Efficient and Equitable Growth of Cities in Developing Countries, World Bank Staff Working Paper No. 342 [Washington, D. C.: World Bank, 1979] pp. 56–108).Google Scholar