ABSTRACT
A difficult economic situation in many Arab and South East Asian countries in the last few decades has made labour emigration an attractive option for citizens of these states (Abella 1995; Al-Najjar 2001). Such emigration has generally been supported by the governments of these countries to ease the pressure on labour markets, reduce unemployment and accelerate development. The migration of the workforce has become one of the most dynamic economic factors in the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries; remittances from migrant labour back to these states exceed the value of regional trade in goods as well as official capital flows (Fergany 2001; Nassar and Ghoneim 2002). Similarly, the migrations to the Gulf states speed up the development of certain regions of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines or Indonesia (Amjad 1989; Eelens et al. 1992).
