DSG discusses preliminary results of Bahrain labour market research

Dr. Tarik Yousef, Dean of the Dubai School of Government and the Project Director of the Bahrain Country Profile, commissioned by the Cairo-based Economic Research Forum (ERF), highlighted the importance of providing regionally-created research on the economies which go beyond the currently available studies and offer policy makers a substantive, actionable assessment of each country's primary economic challenges.

Dr. Yousef said: "Such research initiatives will help assess weaknesses in each sector and help policy makers design suitable policies to overcome those challenges, based on a clear and scientific vision."

Dr. Yousef was speaking at the ERF's workshop on Bahrain Country Profile, organised to inform Bahraini stakeholders about the content of the report. The meeting also helped in getting important feedback from the Bahrain research and policy community on the profile's first draft.

Paul Dyer, Research Associate at the Dubai School of Government, was asked by the Economic Research Forum (ERF) to write a chapter on Bahrain's labour market. Other chapter topics of the Bahrain Country Profile include macroeconomics written by Belqassem Al Abbas, Arab Planning Institute; finance written by Hassan Ali, Ohio State University; trade developed by Sulaf Zakarya, Bahrain Economic Development Board and governance writeen by Mohamed Selim, Cairo University.

While work on the Oman and Yemen Country Profiles, of which Dr. Yousef also serves as Project Director, continues, the ERF is expected to present the final documents for those profiles at the Annual ERF Conference to be held in December in Cairo, before publishing them in the beginning of 2008.

Dr. Yousef noted that the challenges the Bahrain labour market faces are, in many instances, similar to those faced by the UAE. "Bahrain has attempted to launch a wide variety of labour market reforms, including a suspension of the 'kafeel' system, easing the employment termination restrictions on Bahrainis, imposing a tax on foreign labour and launching an unemployment insurance scheme," Dr. Yousef explained.

"We believe Bahrain will continue to be an interesting case study with regard to how the Gulf countries can effectively deal with the
challenges of their respective labour markets," he added.

The Bahrain workshop was attended by 30 government officials and academics.

The ERF has already produced such profiles on Palestine, Jordan, Egypt and Syria.