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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20131208T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20131209T180000
DTSTAMP:20260414T183334
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SUMMARY:The State and Innovation in the Gulf Working Group I
DESCRIPTION:On December 8–9\, 2013\, CIRS held a working group to launch the State and Innovation in the Gulf Research Initiative. Regional and international scholars and experts from various multi-disciplinary backgrounds convened to discuss issues related to the pursuit of a knowledge-based economy (KBE) throughout various states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). \n \n \nWithin the last decade\, members of the GCC have individually drafted\, formulated and launched development plans and strategies that convey the common drive among these states to create a knowledge based-economy. Although they have experienced large-scale rapid development due to abundant hydrocarbon rents\, rulers and public officials of these states have increasingly stated that economic diversification is necessary for the sustainability of economic growth. Diversification has been used almost interchangeably with the concept of developing a “knowledge-based economy\,” underscoring the ultimate goal of these states to reform education\, R&D\, ICT\, and other sectors that enhance productivity and scientific progress. \n \n \nInvestment in higher-education has been one of the most prominent manifestations of this drive towards developing KBEs. As a result of the lack of capacity and expertise of national public universities across the region to produce the necessary skillsets in their graduates fit for a KBE\, governments have increasingly invested in international branch campuses (IBCs). While IBCs are not a novel phenomenon across the globe\, organizations such as Qatar Foundation in Qatar have adopted unique organizational practices and arrangements of IBCs that are cluster-based. Graduates of these hosted top-tier US and European universities’ IBCs gain degrees that are identical to those obtained by graduates from the main campuses. While this model of imported universities is meant to transfer knowledge from one campus to another\, certain types of “knowledge” have more complex forms of adoption. Participants discussed the relative seamless transfer of the sciences\, while humanities programs that are embedded in social and cultural values may need to be adapted to fit the specific locale. \n \n \nThe investment in IBCs and research institutions indicates that the infrastructure to build a R&D culture and economy is present; however\, retaining the human capital to carry out research has proved to be a much more difficult feat. Small national populations throughout the GCC have resulted in the large import of human capital to satisfy labor market needs. However\, the resulting demographic imbalance between nationals and non-nationals has shaped the stringent residency rules in these countries\, which offer no formal pathways to citizenship. Although recruitment of labor has not proven to be much of a concern\, retaining a work-force that has a sense of long-term commitment and ownership over their work is something that organizations have to contend with. Thus\, while GCC states have attempted to create an environment of innovation and knowledge production through financial and infrastructural investment\, the ability to seed and harvest innovation with a largely transient population in place remains a question. Achieving sustainability in innovation requires a comprehensive approach that looks at the social dimensions of this transition to knowledge-producing economies. \n \n \nWhile higher education has been the focus of investment for these aspiring KBEs\, there has been a relative neglect of primary education systems in the GCC. Participants argued that in order to effectively enable systems for knowledge production and knowledge sustainability\, states should aim to produce knowledge “societies” rather than “economies” per se. Rote learning and functionalist approaches to education are prevalent from the primary years of education and act as hindrances to harvesting innovation. With critical thinking undermined and the value of knowledge beyond the labor market requirements rarely articulated\, fostering knowledge production and a risk-taking culture may be a distant achievement for the GCC states despite the presence of top-tier research universities. \n \n \nLabor market employment of nationals continues to be a main priority for GCC states. The nationalization of the education and tourism sectors reflect the government’s attempts to diversify their economies\, while minimizing national unemployment. Within the GCC\, there is also a big push for entrepreneurship and SME development\, which act as modes of employment that concomitantly spur innovation. Participants noted\, though\, that a multitude of systemic and ideational challenges face the state in encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation. Among other factors\, the systemic hurdles include institutional competition\, overly bureaucratic procedures\, as well as endemic inconsistencies between policies and monopolized market conditions. The ideational challenge on the other hand\, poses a hindrance that hits at the root of entrepreneurship development—the limited motivation for entrepreneurial innovation amongst citizens of the Gulf. Participants noted that the rentier path dependencies and the dual-wage structure between the public and private sector across the GCC obstruct incentives for innovation and entrepreneurism amongst nationals. In fact\, state attempts to invigorate the private sector through SME development\, has further embedded the public sector within the economy and entrepreneurship has become a new mode of state patronage and means of accessing rent. \n \n \nAs GCC states strive to develop “innovation cities”\, policy adoption and diffusion from well-established global KBEs is at play. What may be much more complex\, however\, is tackling the social dimension that is required to transition to a KBE\, and tailoring these policies to fit the local conditions. Fostering innovation may lead these states to revisit their rentier dependency policies aimed at nationals\, and to develop motivational mechanisms that incentivize the citizens to play a key role in the development of a knowledge-based economy.  \n \n \n\nRead the participant bios\nSee the working group schedule \nRead more about this research initiative\n\n \nParticipants and Discussants: \n \n \n\nAbdulkhaleq Abdulla\, United Arab Emirates University\nOsama Abi-Mershed\, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies\, Georgetown University\nZahra Babar\, CIRS – Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\nMatt Buehler\, CIRS – Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\nNerida Child Dimasi\, CIRS – Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\nJohn Crist\, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\nCrystal A. Ennis\, Balsillie School of International Affairs\nBarb Gillis\, CIRS – Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\nMartin Hvidt\, Zayed University\nMehran Kamrava\, CIRS – Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\nTanya Kane\, Texas A&M University at Qatar\nHiba Khodr\, American University of Beirut\nDaniel Kirk\, Emirates College for Advanced Education\nJim Krane\, Rice University\nSuzi Mirgani\, CIRS – Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\nRabi Mohtar\, Qatar Foundation\nAnne Nebel\, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\nFirat Oruc\, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\nDwaa Osman\, CIRS – Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\nAndy Spiess\, GCC Network for Drylands Research and Development\nElizabeth Wanucha\, CIRS – Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar\nKenneth Wilson\, Zayed University\n\n \nArticle by Dwaa Osman\, Research Analyst at CIRS
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/state-and-innovation-gulf-working-group-i/
CATEGORIES:Focused Discussions,Regional Studies
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20131211T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20131211T180000
DTSTAMP:20260414T183334
CREATED:20140915T061512Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240314T104057Z
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SUMMARY:Zahra Babar on Arab Migrants in Qatar
DESCRIPTION:Zahra Babar\, Associate Director for Research at CIRS\, delivered a CIRSMonthly Dialogue ‎lecture titled “Working for the Neighbors: Arab Migrants in Qatar” on December 11\, 2013. Babar ‎proposed to examine some of the trends in Qatar’s dramatic population increase over the past ‎few decades\, paying particular attention to the demographic patterns of non-GCC Arab migrant ‎populations. “The migrant population in the Gulf in general\, and in Qatar in particular\, has ‎increased significantly over the past few decades\,” she said. In the 1990s\, the total population of ‎Qatar was about 500\,000 people\, and has increased threefold to almost 2 million in 2013. ‎Giving some background to her research\, Babar explained that “although we all are aware of this ‎large demographic presence of foreigners in Qatar\, surprisingly enough\, we actually do not know ‎very much about them.” Reliable data on who these people are\, where they come from\, how they ‎are integrated in the labor market\, and how they experience life in Qatar is scant. “Obtaining data ‎in Qatar on national and ethnic compositions of the migrant population is a huge challenge. Any ‎researcher trying to work on some aspect of labor migration in Qatar finds that the data ‎availability\, data accessibility\, and data reliability is very scarce\,” she noted. With Qatar’s hosting ‎of the 2022 FIFA World Cup approaching\, critical attention has focused on Qatar’s labor ‎practices with several high-profile and defamatory exposés in the international media. Babar ‎warned\, however\, that people should be wary of those who claim to have solid facts and figures ‎regarding migration and labor conditions in Qatar. “I hope you would remain skeptical when any ‎one of these articles proceeds to give you particular figures\,” she said. ‎ \n \n \nGuiding her research\, Babar explained\, was the question: “why is it important to talk about ‎nationality?” Nationality\, she said\, has a direct impact on one’s life in Qatar as a migrant\, ‎including how it determines salary structures\, benefits and prospects\, and how one experiences ‎life and work in the country. Thus\, “nationality has a strong correlation with how one is ‎integrated into Qatar’s labor market\,” she surmised. ‎ \n \n \nTracing nationality trajectories in Qatar over the past few decades\, she argued that ethnic and ‎national compositions of the expatriate presence have gone through a complete transformation. ‎Focusing on changes to the non-GCC Arab migrant populations in Qatar\, Babar highlighted the ‎significant decrease in numbers from 70 percent in the 1970s and 1980s to less than 20 percent ‎currently. Babar reported recent figures obtained from the Qatari Ministry of Labor\, which ‎placed non-GCC Arab expatriates in Qatar at 146\, 000\, or 13 percent of the total workforce. Of ‎these\, Egyptians comprise the largest percentage in terms of national composition\, closely ‎followed by Sudanese and Syrians. Together\, these three nationalities comprise 65 percent of the ‎total non-GCC Arab expatriate population in Qatar and 72 percent of the non-GCC Arab ‎workforce.‎ \n \n \nSituating these demographic changes historically\, Babar argued that the GCC states\, with their ‎burgeoning hydrocarbon industries and small populations\, were obliged to employ foreign ‎workers. Initially\, in the early days of the industry\, the logical choice was to employ workers ‎from neighboring Arab countries\, given the geographic\, linguistic\, religious\, and cultural ‎affinities\, and the ease of Arab integration into existing Gulf societies. However\, as these ‎massive hydrocarbon industries grew and globalized and as political economic imperatives ‎surpassed these initial sociocultural considerations\, there were dramatic shifts in the policies\, ‎practices\, and patterns of the Qatari labor market. ‎ \n \n \nEffectively\, non-GCC Arab migrants in Qatar have\, since the 1970s\, integrated into society by ‎maintaining their traditional family structures. Of the total non-GCC Arab residents in Qatar\, ‎only 52 percent are active in the labor force and contribute to the economy\, while 48 percent are ‎dependents—children and housewives. If this is compared to corresponding data from other ‎nationalities\, there is a significant and noticeable difference. There are only 17 percent non-‎working dependents in the Indian community and only 1 percent in the Nepalese community. ‎Further\, the discrepancy in these figures also reveals that non-GCC Arab migrants presumably ‎earn higher salaries to be able to maintain a dependent household in Qatar. Thus\, Babar argued\, it ‎is easy to see why Qatari policymakers would be more inclined to import cheaper and more ‎manageable labor from Asia. ‎ \n \n \nIn sum\, Babar concluded that\, “in Qatar\, the state and society are extremely concerned about the ‎demographic imbalance and the increasing presence of foreigners outnumbering them\, and so ‎really what they are looking for is to have their labor market needs met without any incremental ‎increase to the population.” ‎ \n \n \nZahra Babar is Associate Director for Research at the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS)\, Georgetown University-Qatar. Previously\, she worked in the international aid\, community development\, and poverty alleviation sector. Babar has served with the International Labour Organisation and the United Nations Development Programme. She also spent several years working in Pakistan with the Sarhad Rural Support Programme\, one of Pakistan’s large multisectoral rural development organizations. She has edited\, with Mehran Kamrava\, Migrant Labor in the Persian Gulf\, and with Suzi Mirgani\, Food Security in the Middle East. Babar received her BA in Government from Smith College in Northampton\, Massachusetts\, and her MA from the School of International Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University\, New Delhi.Article by Suzi Mirgani\, Manager and Editor for CIRS Publications. 
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/zahra-babar-arab-migrants-qatar/
CATEGORIES:Dialogue Series,Distingushed Lectures,Race & Society,Regional Studies
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