Migrants in Qatar: A Socio-Economic Profile

Abstract

This first micro-level study of temporary migrants from developing countries in Qatar uses data collected during the summer of 2007. The median migrant has the following profile: male, thirty-one years of age, single and possessing a high school education. He works ten hours a day, six days per week, and earns US$3,945 per annum of which over half is remitted home to his parents. He incurred a job placement fee equivalent to 1.25 times his monthly salary. Using multivariate regression, we find that migrants' capacity for work is positively correlated with age, having a university degree, and satisfaction with sleep and mental wellbeing. Estimates of a remittance function show that males send more money home, and that migrants are motivated to save, therefore a tendency to transfer higher amounts. We also find that older migrants remit more, suggesting that as the likelihood of returning home increases with age, remittance level rises.