Does international migration follow the oil market situation in the Gulf? The case of Kuwait.

The author examines the impact of oil-price fluctuations on labor migration flows for Kuwait. The emphasis is on the effects of the early-1980s price drop. "After reviewing these flows...this paper will attempt to answer two main questions: (a) Do immigrants tend to remain where they are and become part of the Kuwait of tomorrow, or is return migration likely to be massive? (b) If there is a tendency to remain in Kuwait, is this accompanied by a move towards the integration of foreigners into a new society, or, on the contrary, is the 'separate development' of two distinct societies taking place?"