Oil and Labor in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia and the Oil Boom

Based on the author's first-hand research and experience in Saudi Arabia, this monograph presents a highly readable account of the internationalization of the Middle East's labor force during and after the oil boom of 1973-83. Written from the perspective of an active participant rather than that of an academic observer, Oil and Labor in the Middle East analyzes the expatriate workers' world and the multinational companies employing them. It will prove particularly valuable to readers -- business executives, workers, government representatives, and labor leaders -- involved in the exchange of labor across national borders..

Woodward demonstrates that the treatments influx of foreign workers into the Middle East during the oil boom created a complex supranational world of people and corporations -- and an inevitable clash of cultural, economic, and political perspectives. He explores facets of the expatriate experience that have received little treatment elsewhere: the labor pyramid, the relationship between expatriate and host country labor force, the commercial/industrial environment, bargaining position and risk, and the governments of countries sending labor overseas. Finally, Woodward examines individual considerations critical to the decision to become an expatriate worker: personal motivation, living conditions, cultural differences, salaries, and the value of savings.