Authors' note: Views expressed in this paper do not necessarily represent those of the International Labour Office (Geneva) nor of any other organisation with which the authors have been or are associated. The authors alone are responsible for what is written here.

¹ Makhlouf, C., Changing Veils: A Study of Women in North Yemen (London: Croom Helm, 1979);Google ScholarMinces, J., “La Femme dans le Monde Arabe,” Espirit (Paris), 22 (1978),Google ScholarWarnock, E., Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak (Austin: University of Texas, 1978);Google ScholarYoussef, N. H., Women and Work in Developing Countries (Connecticut, 1977).Google Scholar

² Kanouski, E., Economic Development of Syria (Tel Aviv: University Publishing Projects, 1977).Google Scholar

³ World Bank, Yemen Arab Republic: Development of a Traditional Economy (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1979).Google Scholar

⁴ Kanouski, (1977);Google ScholarWorld Bank (1979);Google ScholarMazur, M. P., Economic Growth and Development in Jordan (London: Croom Helm, 1979);Google ScholarILO, Growth, Employment and Equity: A Comprehensive Strategy for the Sudan (Geneva: ILO, 1976);Google ScholarSayigh, Y. A., The Economies of the Arab World (London: Croom Helm, 1978);Google ScholarBirks, J. S. and Sinclair, C. A., Arab Manpower: The Crisis of Development (London: Croom Helm, 1980).Google Scholar

⁵ Sales, M., “Country Case Study: Syrian Arab Republic,” International Migration Project Working Paper (Durham University: Economics Department, 1979), mimeograph.Google Scholar

⁶ Din, M. J., Migrants Abroad (Khartoum: Economic and Social Research Council, 1978).Google Scholar

⁷ For a more extensive discussion of Egypt see Birks, J. S. and Sinclair, C. A., Human Capital on the Nile: Development and Emigration in the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Democratic Republic of the Sudan, World Employment Programme Research Working Paper (Geneva: ILO, 1978).Google Scholar

⁸ This point is elaborated in Sinclair, C. A. and Socknat, J. A., “Migration for Employment Abroad and Its Impact on Development in the Yemen Arab Republic,” International Migration Project Topic Paper (Durham University: Economics Department, 1979), pp. 38–49, mimeograph.Google Scholar

⁹ Readers interested in this field may wish to consult ILO, International Recommendations on Labour Statistics (Geneva; ILO, 1976).Google Scholar

¹⁰ Sethuraman, S. V., “The Urban Informal Sector: Concept, Measurement and Policy,” International Labour Review (Geneva) 114 (1976), 69–83.Google Scholar

¹¹ Evidence for this phenomenon in rural Egypt is given in Lee, E. and Radwan, S., The Anatomy of Rural Poverty: Egypt, 1977 (Geneva: ILO, 1980).Google Scholar

¹² The idea of a “vicious circle of personal poverty” is discussed with reference to contemporary Cairo in Birks, J. S. and Sinclair, C. A., “Egypt: A Frustrated Labour Exporter,” Middle East Journal (Washington), 33, 3 (1979), 288–303.Google Scholar

¹³ It is often difficult to comprehend the quality of an existence of this kind. Idris, Yusuf (The Cheapest Nights [London: Peter Owen, 1978] provides one indication in an Arab environment.Google Scholar

¹⁴ See Birks, J. S. and Sinclair, C. A., Migration and Development in the Arab Region (Geneva: ILO, 1980).Google Scholar

¹⁵ Birks and Sinclair, Arab Manpower, chap. 20.

¹⁶ Note that the World Bank in World Development Report 1979 (Washington: World Bank, 1979) estimates an increased number of persons working and living on the land in low income countries.Google Scholar

¹⁷ One exception to the general argument put forward here is the possibility that as a consequence of the Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel, the former country demobilize the army.

¹⁸ Syria, Ministry of Planning, Fourth Five- Year Economic and Social Development Plan, 1976 to 1980 (Damascus: Arab Office for Press Documentation, 1977);Google ScholarJordan, National Planning Council, Five Year Plan 1976 to 1980 (Amman: National Planning Council, 1976);Google ScholarSudan, Ministry of Planning, The Six Year Social and Economic Development Plan for the Republic of the Sudan 1977/78 to 1982/83 (Khartoum, Ministry of Planning, n.d.) (Arabic);Google ScholarYemen Arab Republic, Central Planning Organisation, The First Five-Year Plan 1976/77 to 1980/81 (Sana⊂a, Central Planning Organisation, 1977) (Arabic).Google Scholar

¹⁹ Prominent in the field of research into the informal sector is the World Employment Programme research under the “Technology and Employment, and, Urbanisation and Employment programmes of the International Labour Office, Geneva.” Recently, the World Bank has shown an appreciation of the relevance of the informal sector to their lending activities (Linn, J. F., Policies for Efficient and Equitable Growth of Cities in Developing Countries, World Bank Staff Working Paper No. 342 [Washington, D. C.: World Bank, 1979] pp. 56–108).Google Scholar