Emilie Rutledge

Emiratisation: determining the factors that influence the recruitment decisions of employers in the UAE

The Arab Gulfs labour market is being overhauled. The private sector is increasingly being ‘obliged’ to more actively support nationalisation programmes. This study seeks to quantitatively determine the recruitment decisions of the employers. We collated the views of just under 250 UAE-based HRM personnel, in order to identify which factors (social, cultural, economic, regulatory, educational and motivational) are most significant as cited in the relevant literature. Not having the necessary educational qualifications and high reservation wage demands were found to have less of a bearing than does the perceived lack of vocationally orientated motivation and the ambiguities over the differing rights afforded to employees.

Women, labour market nationalization policies and human resource development in the Arab Gulf states

Growing levels of national unemployment constitute one of the Arab Gulfs key domestic policy challenges and not least because the majority of new jobs will need to be created in the skilled private sector. We demonstrate that while female nationals obtain proportionately more of the vocationally orientated, tertiary level qualifications that this sector requires, structural issues and cultural attitudes continue to act as barriers. Based on the findings of interviews with policymakers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, we contend that while incumbent labour nationalization policies have led to marginal increases in female participation rates, more systemic labour market reforms will be needed in order to better capitalize on the ‘valuable human resource asset’ that they represent.

Parental influence on female vocational intentions in the Arabian Gulf

Due to the Arabian Gulf’s pyramid-style ‘national’ demographic profile and pronounced reliance on expatriate labor, policymakers are now actively seeking ways to increase national FLFP. In this context, we examine the impact of parental influence on the post-graduation vocational intentions of women in the United Arab Emirates. Perceived levels of parental support, engagement and interference are measured against factors including: the likelihood per se of seeking formal employment, sectoral preferences and, the impact of sociocultural barriers on such decisions. While remunerative factors (particularly salary and maternity leave) and sentiment towards a given occupation’s ‘appropriateness’ were observed to have considerable bearing, so was the role played by parents. Parental support is found to significantly reduce the magnitude of sociocultural barriers. Conversely, parental interference results in labor market entry being less likely. Moreover, those whose fathers have tertiary-level education have a significantly higher intention of joining the workforce.

Is EMU a viable model for monetary integration in the Arabian Gulf

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) intends to form a monetary union using the EMU process as a blueprint, including a set of Maastricht‐style convergence criteria. Yet, as the 2010 deadline approaches, few of the necessary institutional preparations have been made. This paper argues that while GCC leaders considered the economic case (on the whole beneficial) they neglected to fully consider the political implications of monetary union. It concludes that devolving decision‐making powers to pan‐GCC institutions, the need for greater levels of budgetary transparency and fiscal discipline may presently be considered too costly for the region’s ruling elites.

Labor Markets in the Gulf and the South Asian Migration

This chapter considers the long-run relationship between South Asian labor and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)’s workforce composition and modes of operation. While overall the relationship has been mutually beneficial, drawbacks are apparent, a key one being the impact on indigenous human capital. South Asian labor, more than any other contingent—Arab, Western and others—enabled GCC rulers to institute a mode of ‘social contract’ which provided citizens with government jobs (sometimes sinecures), luxury lifestyles facilitated by cheap labor (within the domestic workplace and public spheres), and heavily subsidized migrant labor for their business ventures. The resultant strains—a highly overstaffed bureaucracy and little incentive for businesses to invest in labor-saving technologies—are now acutely apparent and the status quo is in need of a systemic overhaul.