ABSTRACT
Egyptians constitute anywhere from 10 to 60 percent of the labor force of most capital-rich countries. They are found in all levels of manpower, from top political advisors of rulers of the Gulf States, to ditch diggers in the far comers of South Arabia. Egypt’s economic expansion and industrialization, which were in full swing from 1955 to 1965, came to a halt in the late 1960s. In the late 1960s, Egypt’s rate of economic growth dropped from its previous 6.5 percent annually to about 2 percent, with some years recording negative growth. With structural forces in full swing in Egypt and the Arab oil states, Egyptians as individuals and as reference groups began to entertain the idea and then crave for migration. The rapid increase of money wealth for Egyptians working abroad has naturally led to new consumption patterns. The presence of Egyptian political dissidents in neighboring oil countries is a mixed blessing for President Sadat’s regime.
