Title: Highly-skilled migration from Jordan: a response to socio-political challenges
Abstract: 600, 000 to 670,000 Jordanians are estimated to be employed abroad today, some half a million in the Gulf countries alone. Most of them are believed to be highly-skilled. On rare occasions, concern for this ‘brain drain’ is expressed. However, throughout its history, Jordan has always practised an ‘opendoor policy’ towards the emigration of its citizens, officially to alleviate unemployment. After briefly retracing the dynamics of highly-skilled emigration, this report highlights the views expressed and policies implemented on the issue, before adding some socio-political explanations to the continuous disregard for the topic in official discourses, which contrasts, however, with recent policy-moves towards encouraging the expatriation of the highly-skilled. Among the ‘push’ factors for the highly skilled is the resilience of clientelism in society and the patterns of adjustment to free trade, the latter partly explaining the stagnation of salaries and standards of living. The open-door policy to emigration, recently reinforced by an increase in opportunities offered outside the Kingdom for skilled Jordanians, also responds to a range of socio-political challenges. For instance, it compensates lagging income (opportunities for higher salaries and stimulation of private revenues through workers’ remittances). Expatriation of the highly skilled also ensures control over potential political opposition and, particularly, the reproduction of the elites.
Publication Year: 2010
Publication Date: 2010-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 6
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