Working Poverty and Quality of Employment: The Great Refugee Crisis in Middle Eastern Host Countries

Ammar Z. Alwrekiat; Antonio Mihi-Ramirez; Elias Melchor-Ferrer

doi:10.5755/j01.ee.34.3.33316

Authors

Ammar Z. Alwrekiat University of Granada, Spain
Antonio Mihi-Ramirez University of Granada, Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3801-9906
Elias Melchor-Ferrer University of Granada, Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4474-1623

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.34.3.33316

Keywords:

Working poor, Major refugee crises, Quality of employment, Working poverty risk, Developing countries, Unemployment rate, Labour force, Own-account workers, Official development assistance

Abstract

This paper focuses on the distribution of the working poor by income level across countries and examines how indicators such as the level of unemployment, the labour force, and the number of self-employed, impact that distribution. In addition, it also examines the impact of official development assistance and the massive influx of refugees as a result of the Syrian conflict. Four income levels of the working poor are analysed using the panel data technique. The sample includes the 5 main host countries (Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey) for the period from 1991 to 2021. Our results confirm that unemployment is not a significant predictor for developing countries, so we recommend indicators of job quality. Moreover, our results confirm a low impact of refugees on the labour market in host countries. Furthermore, the effect of self-employment on the income level of the working poor is positive but limited.

Author Biographies

Ammar Z. Alwrekiat, University of Granada, Spain

Ammar Z. Alwrekiat is a PhD student within the research line "Economic internationalisation, institutions and policies", in the Faculty of Economics and Business Studies of the University of Granada.

Antonio Mihi-Ramirez, University of Granada, Spain

Antonio Mihi-Ramirez is a full Professor at the Department of International and Spanish Economics of Granada University. Research topics are international economics and migration flows. Further information here: https://www.ugr.es/local/amihi

Elias Melchor-Ferrer, University of Granada, Spain

Elias Melchor-Ferrer is a Professor at the Department of International and Spanish Economics of Granada University. Research topics are international economics, productivity, and migration flows.