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Asymmetric Information under the Kafala Sponsorship System: Impacts on Foreign Domestic Workers' Income and Employment Status in the GCC Countries

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Listed:
  • Malit Jr., Froilan T.

    (Cornell University)

  • Naufal, George S

    (Texas A&M University)

Abstract

This paper examines the legal and policy implications of information asymmetry on foreign domestic workers employed under the Kafala sponsorship system in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Drawing from ethnographic and field-based observations in large GCC migrant destinations – including Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – we investigate the information flows and market uncertainties between five key stakeholders: labor-receiving governments, labor-sending governments, recruitment agencies (subagents), sponsors (employers), and social networks. Several factors contribute to asymmetric information: the lack of bilateral labor agreements and government policy coordination, programs between and among government entities, the absence of labor law for domestic workers, and the laissez faire approach of the labor-receiving government. These sources of asymmetric information create serious market vulnerabilities for the domestic worker population, often resulting in loss of employment and early deportation. The concluding section further outlines policy implications and areas of methodological research on GCC migration.

Suggested Citation

  • Malit Jr., Froilan T. & Naufal, George S, 2016. "Asymmetric Information under the Kafala Sponsorship System: Impacts on Foreign Domestic Workers' Income and Employment Status in the GCC Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 9941, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9941
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    Cited by:

    1. Ligia Kiss & David Fotheringhame & Joelle Mak & Alys McAlpine & Cathy Zimmerman, 2021. "The use of Bayesian networks for realist evaluation of complex interventions: evidence for prevention of human trafficking," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 25-48, May.
    2. Rebeca Raijman & Nonna Kushnirovich & Yahel Kurlander, 2024. "Between Marketization and Demarketization: Reconfiguration of the Migration Industry in the Agricultural Sector in Israel," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 43(2), pages 1-24, April.
    3. Santosh Adhikari & Bimala Khatri, 2024. "Labour migration market and policy failure: A comparative study of the Philippines and Nepal," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(2), pages 1407-1425, March.
    4. Naufal, George S & Malit Jr., Froilan T., 2018. "Exploitation and the Decision to Migrate: The Role of Abuse and Unfavorable Working Conditions in Filipina Domestic Workers' Desire to Return Abroad," IZA Discussion Papers 11677, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. World Bank, 2020. "Towards Safer and More Productive Migration for South Asia," World Bank Publications - Reports 33559, The World Bank Group.
    6. Michael C. Ewers & Abdoulaye Diop & Kien Trung Le & Lina Bader, 2020. "Migrant Worker Well-Being and Its Determinants: The Case of Qatar," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 137-163, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Middle East; domestic worker; migration; asymmetric information; Gulf Cooperation Council Countries;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • N35 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Asia including Middle East
    • N45 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Asia including Middle East

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