Migration and Development in Egypt—A Holistic View

Abstract

The importance of labour migration as an instrument for states’ development has been a key consideration for a range of countries across the global South. Egypt was one of the first states across North Africa and the Middle East to establish specific policies on the governance of labour migration in the context of social and economic development, which have been effective since the early 1970s. This chapter aims to identify the range of policies introduced by the Egyptian state with the aim of governing migration, and to examine the distinct contributions of cross-border socioeconomic mobility to development. Drawing on a range of primary and secondary sources in Arabic and English, as well as extensive fieldwork in Cairo, the chapter points to the fact that Egyptian public policies aim to attract far more than economic remittances; and demonstrates how Egypt approaches migration in a holistic manner, seeking to maximise the benefits from citizens’ emigration and their time abroad, while also encouraging return skilled migration.

Keywords

• governance
• migration policies
• remittancies
• labour market
• skilled migration
• migration