Migration from North Africa and the Middle East: Skilled Migrants, Development and Globalisation

The countries of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEM) and those in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are crucial to the development of the world economy. Highly skilled migration to and from these regions is key to the recent socio-political transformations that have occurred across the world. Despite this, in the states concerned, skilled migration remains an underlying 'issue of concern', rather than at the top of political agendas, leading to a spectrum of unclear and uncoordinated legal and policy frameworks. Containing a series of thematic and country-specific overviews, this book highlights the specificity of each region, and identifies and analyses key demographic, economic, legal and political data - allowing for policy prescription. Skilled Migration, the 'brain drain', and its impact is an extensively debated phenomenon and this will be an essential companion for social scientists, policy-makers and development scholars.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction 6 Philippe Fargues and Alessandra Venturini 2. The Geography of Highly-Skilled Arab Migration 11 Anna Di Bartolomeo and Philippe Fargues Introduction 11 1. A Persisting Divide: Mashrek vs. Maghreb 12 2. Selecting graduates, workers or relatives? 17 Conclusion 5 Appendix 1 3. Highly-Skilled Migrants in the Arab Mediterranean: Who, why and what is to be done 1 Alessandra Venturini and Edlira Narazani Introduction 1 1. Many migrant destinations: few highly-skilled migrant destinations 2 1.1 The distribution and numbers of stocks by destination 2 1.2 Stock of education migrants and brain drain in OECD countries 6 2. Over-education and over-occupation of migrants in OECD countries 7 3. The Evolution of Education and of Education Quality 2 4. The effect of highly-skilled migration on the human capital of the origin country 4 Conclusion 8 4. Highly-Skilled Migration into, through and from the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan Africa 11 Paul Tabar Part I 11 1. The socio-political impact of highly-skilled migration within the context of transnational political practice 11 2. The economic and socio-political contexts of highly-skilled migration 12 3. The socio-political impact of highly-skilled migration on sending societies 12 4. The socio-political impact of highly-skilled migration on receiving countries 14 5. Civil society in receiving countries and the socio-political impact of highly-skilled migration 15 Part II 15 1. Further comments on this part of the book 15 2. Political motivations for neglecting statistical data on highly-skilled migration 16 5. Highly-skilled Diaspora Knowledge Transfers: TOKTEN in the Arab world 21 Tamirace Fakhoury Introduction 21 1. Study structure 21 2. Methodology and study limitations 22 3. Highly-skilled diaspora contributions to development 22 4. The TOKTEN approach 23 5. Contextualising TOKTEN in the Arab WORLD 24 6. The TOKTEN programme in Lebanon 24 7. The TOKTEN programme in Palestine 25 8. The TOKTEN programme in Sudan 26 9. Empowering TOKTEN in a transitioning Arab world? 27 Concluding remarks 29 6. Young and Highly-Skilled: Emigration from Lebanon 31 Choghig Kasparian Introduction 31 1. The employment market and the emigration of highly-skilled workers 32 2. The characteristics of highly-skilled Lebanese migrants 36 3. Relations between highly-skilled migrants and their country of origin 40 Conclusion 42 7. Legal and Regulatory Framework of Highly-Skilled Migration: The Case of the Palestinian Authority 43 Asem Khalil Introduction 43 1. Defining 'highly-skilled migration' 44 2. Bilateral and Multilateral Agreements 45 3. An Increasing Palestinian Interest 46 4. Incentives targeting skilled immigrants 47 5. Incentives targeting Palestinians emigrants 48 6. Cooperation with Foreign Academic Institutions 50 7. Temporary and Virtual Return 52 Conclusion 52 8. Jordan, a land of no return? Highly-skilled migration, before and during the Arab Spring. 57 Françoise De Bel-Air Introduction 57 1. Dynamics of skilled emigration from Jordan 57 1.1 Jordanian migrants: stocks and flows 58 1.2. Profile of migrants 59 1.3. Motives for highly-skilled emigration 60 2. Actors and policies: 'open-door', brain gain vs. brain drain 61 2.1. Views 61 2.2. Policies 62 3. Skilled emigration as 'brain strain': a political calculus 64 3.1.Short-term benefits 64 3.2.Citizenship, elite change and institutional reform for development 65 Conclusion 66 9. Highly Skilled Migration and Development in Egypt 69 Nadine Sika Introduction 69 1. Highly-Skilled Migration: Bane or Boon for Development? 69 2. Egyptian migration to OECD countries and the Gulf 70 2.1. Characteristics of Temporary and Return Migration 72 3. Egyptian Migrants and the Importance of Remittances for the Egyptian Economy 73 4. Highly-Skilled Migration and Government Policy 73 5. Multilateral and Bilateral Agreements 74 6. Immigration in Egyp

About the Author :
Philippe Fargues is Director of the Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute Alessandra Venturini is Professor of Political Economy at the University of Turin and Executive Director of CARIM (European-Mediterranean Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration at the EUI).