Abdoulaye Diop

A Portrait of Low-Income Migrants in Contemporary Qatar

Though transnational labor migration in the Gulf States has increasingly been of scholarly interest, that scholarship has to date relied largely on qualitative ethnographic methodologies or small non-representative sampling strategies. This paper presents the findings of a large representative sample of low-income migrant laborers in Qatar. The data describe the basic characteristics of the low-income migrant population in Qatar, the process by which migrants obtain employment, the frequency with which this population of migrants encounters the problems and challenges described by previous ethnographic work, and the role played by nationality, ethnicity, and religion in patterning that experience. While the findings generally affirm many of the claims made in earlier ethnographic studies, they provide a means by which the extent of these problems and challenges can be ascertained more directly.

Civic Life and Democratic Citizenship in Qatar Findings from the First Qatar World Values Survey

The present study examines the Arab nation that has remained least affected by the regional upheaval that has gripped much of the Middle East and North Africa since the beginning of 2011: the Gulf state of Qatar. Using previously unavailable data from the inaugural Qatar World Values Survey administered in December 2010, we explore the political orientations of ordinary Qatari citizens. Specifically, we extend several recent empirical analyses that suggest a conditional relationship between civic participation and democratic political orientations in Arab and other non-Western societies. As in other non-democratic contexts, we find, in Qatar citizen involvement in societal organizations is not associated with higher appreciation for democracy, nor again with those values and behaviors thought to be essential to it. Rather, associational life in Qatar is simply an extension of traditional society and the prevailing regime, with those most involved being those who derive the most benefit and who would thus stand to lose most from any revision of the political status quo.

2022 Qatar World Cup Impact Perceptions among Qatar Residents

The purpose of this study was to evaluate how the impacts from the 2022 World Cup preparations in Qatar influenced local residents’ attitudes, personal and community quality of life perceptions, excitement about hosting the event, and support toward the event. The examination of the way mega sport event impacts influence residents’ perceptions of personal and community quality of life is lacking in the literature. Data were collected using systematic sampling in October 2014 from Qatari nationals and white-collar expatriates. Overall, 2,163 interviews with Qatari nationals (1,058) and white-collar expatriates (1,105) were completed. The results revealed that eight years before the event, sociocultural impacts were the most influential type of impact for residents’ attitudes toward the event, community and personal quality of life, excitement about the event, and support of the FIFA decision to host the event in Qatar.

Reform of the Kafāla System: A Survey Experiment from Qatar

Abstract Immigration in the Arabian Gulf is governed by the kafāla (sponsorship) system, which provides the legal basis for the residency and employment of foreign workers across the region. Despite mounting economic, political and social costs, the system remains entrenched with little prospect for reform. The following paper takes up this puzzle, asking the simple question, why has vital reform been so difficult to achieve? In answering this question, we explore the complex political and economic interests that underlie public support for the kafāla system. Drawing on data from a nationally representative survey experiment in Qatar, we disentangle the effects of various interests on attitudes toward immigration reform. When primed to consider blue-collar workers, citizens strongly support the status quo and oppose reform. Heterogeneous treatment effects further suggest that a powerful coalition of economic interests (uniting business owners, workers and the wealthy) is the most supportive of the current policy, underpinning its persistence and representing a major challenge to reform.

Citizens’ attitudes towards migrant workers in Qatar

Public attitudes play a critical role in shaping policies towards immigration and the status of migrant workers. Facing growing pressure from international human rights organizations, media and other groups, the Gulf Cooperation Council states have begun efforts to reform the current kafala system, which prevails throughout the region. Yet despite these efforts, relatively little is known about what citizens actually think of this policy, let alone their more general attitudes towards foreign workers. In the following paper, we explore this question and focus on the case of Qatar. Recently, the Qatari government promised to reform their sponsorship system in 2015. Whether this reform succeeds will depend on public attitudes towards this new policy and how citizens perceive the role of foreign workers in the country. Drawing on data from a nationally representative survey in Qatar, we use a split sample technique to better disentangle citizens’ varying attitudes towards blue-collar and white-collar workers. The survey results suggest that Qatari citizens are ambivalent about foreign workers’ contributions and overall impact on their country. While they value foreign workers’ positive contribution to the development of their country in general, they have concerns about this population’s impact on economic and health resources. Ultimately, most citizens would prefer to maintain the sponsorship system, or kafala, as it is right now.

Examining the cross-cultural attitudes of Qataris and expatriates in Qatar, the host country of 2022 World Cup

The purpose of this paper is to examine how residents in Qatar, the host country of the 2022 World Cup, interact, socialize and acculturate in order to create a more harmonic society, a critical factor for the event delivery and preparations.,Data were collected from Qatari nationals and expatriates residing in the country of Qatar using a survey. A stratified random sampling approach was applied using as sampling framework all households having a mailing address with the country’s electric company. In total, 2,398 Qataris were contacted and 1,020 completed the survey. From the expatriate population, 1,852 were contacted and 1,134 completed the survey.,The results showed Qatari nationals were favorable toward Arab and Asian expatriates but not as favorable as Arab and Asian expatriates were toward them. Both groups of residents showed high quality of life (QOL) perceptions, with the locals having slightly higher QOL. Finally, Asian expatriates were more open to socializing with the locals and Arab expatriates.,The results of the study shed light into the acculturation process in host societies of mega sport events such as the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.,This is the first study that examined a mega event’s host country resident’s cultural interactions to identify potential issues that can arise and interfere with the event experience of the 2022 World Cup in a very diverse society.

Within-household sampling: searching for a better methodconditional on household size information

AbstractSurvey research has been used widely in various social sciences. A random selection of a survey respondent at the household level (so called within-household sampling) is critical for any valid statistical inference with the survey data. In this paper, we will review existing sampling methods. Some methods ensure the randomness, but require a lengthy and intrusive process and hence reduce cooperation. Some methods provide a quick and simple sampling at the expense of the randomness. Although household size information is collected in most of these methods, this information is not fully used. The question that these methods try to answer is how to randomly sample a person. In this paper, we argue that the method should be developed not to answer this question but to answer the question about how to randomly sample a person conditional on (or given) the household size. Compared to the current “one size fit all” methods, it is always better to use a method that allows for different ways of sampling f...