The Gulf Research Center

and
 
The Kuwait Economic Society

Joint Workshop

Population Distribution in GCC Countries: Economic Development or Social Crisis?

May 13 -14, 2008

Given the increased factors of demography and population growth, this meeting will focus on GCC Migration and its History: Demographics and countries of origin, changes in the GCC expatriate population since the 1980s including from neighboring Arab countries to Asian countries as well as an estimation of the future population composition in the GCC. There will also be a comparison with the migration and integration experience of the United States, Western Europe and Asia (namely Singapore and Malaysia). IN addition, the meeting will analyze many of the social and legal issues such as the policy of non-integration and temporary residence, citizenship laws and labor laws in the GCC, the contribution of expatriates to GCC GDP, skill gaps and politics of workforce nationalization, the inter-linkages between investments and job creation. Finally, migration will be considered from a security point of view including whether the GCC policy of temporary residence and workforce diversification is feasible in the long run, how GCC free labor markets could work, and the spillover potential of political conflicts of sending countries (e.g. India/ Pakistan, Iran)