Preferences Over Foreign Migration

Abstract

Do existing theories regarding the impact of foreign migration explain preferences in non-oecd countries? The author adapts and applies explanations for opposition to migration in the Arabian Gulf, a significant region in global migration today, using a survey experiment implemented in Qatar. The results offer a rare validation of predictions from the labor market competition model, demonstrating that individual employment circumstances are important preference determinants. Additionally, while OECD citizens prefer high-skilled migrants, Qataris are indifferent about blue- versus white-collar workers. Mediation analysis suggests that this null effect is the result of competing cultural and economic concerns over the effect of differing classes of migrants on economic and social welfare. The novel context provides a critical test case of the labor market hypothesis and offers insight into how migration preferences in the Global South differ from the Western experience.

Arab identity and attitudes toward migration in Kuwait and Qatar

“…2 Other studies have suggested that Qataris are not indifferent to the choice between white and blue collar workers. For example, York (2022) conducts mediation analysis which suggests a diverse set of concerns leading to dislike for particular types of migrants, especially on the part of Qataris who may see migrants as job market competitors.…”

“…Indeed, migrants in the Gulf are thought to favor the hiring of co-nationals in worker recruitment processes over which they can exert significant control. 1 A substantial literature has sought to document and explain anti-migrant sentiment among Gulf citizens (e.g., Diop et al, 2012Diop et al, , 2015York 2022), but to our knowledge no study has examined attitudes toward migration among expatriate workers in the Arab Gulf context. Using data from an original, online survey and framing experiment, we report on the attitudes of more than 2900 foreigners working in Kuwait and Qatar, oil-rich Arab Gulf states that are deeply dependent on migrant labor.…”