Michael Ewers

Michael Ewers

Associate Professor
Environmental and Geographical Sciences

Research and Teaching Interests
Dr. Ewers is a human geographer and interdisciplinary social scientist. His research and creative scholarly work focus on three areas: 1) migration and globalization, 2) worker welfare and inequality, and 3) human capital and sustainable economic development. His overall goal is to understand who moves where and why in a global context; how individuals and groups experience and navigate migration and work differently across space; and how places create human capital for sustainable economic development. His teaching and research interests are integrally linked, emphasizing global trends and particular expertise in the Middle East region. 

Education

  • PhD (2010) Geography, The Ohio State University
  • MA (2005) Geography, The Ohio State University

Recent Publications

Ewers M, C Brannstrom & C Conrecode. 2025, in press. What are the emerging contours of regional industrial decarbonization? Evidence from a rapid analysis of US clean hydrogen hubs. Geoforum
Ewers M & B Shockley. 2023. Graduate migration, partisanship, and city preferences: An experimental approach to place consonant migration decisions. Population, Place and Space . 
Ewers M, A Diop, N Duma* & K Le. 2023. Beyond vulnerability: Migrant worker views on rights and wellbeing in the Gulf Arab States. Comparative Migration Studies 11(20).
Ewers M & J Kangmennaang. 2023. New spaces of inequality with the rise of remote work: Autonomy, technostress, and life disruption. Applied Geography 152. 
Ewers M, A Diop, K Le & L Bader. 2023. Resilience and sustainability in the Gulf migration regimes: Kafāla in the era of Covid-19. Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies 21(1): 28-44. 
Brannstrom, C, M Ewers & P Schwarz. 2022. Will peak talent arrive before peak oil or peak demand? Energy Research & Social Science 93. 
Ewers M, N Khattab, Z Babar & M Madeeha. 2022. Skilled migration to emerging economies: The global competition for talent beyond the West. Globalizations 19 (2), 268-284
Ewers M, J Gengler & B Shockley. 2021. Bargaining power: A framework for understanding varieties of migration experience. International Migration Review 55(4): 1121-1151.
Dicce R & M Ewers. 2021. Solar labor market transitions in the United Arab Emirates. Geoforum 124: 55-64.
Poon J, Y Chow, M Ewers & T Hamilton. 2021. Executives’ observance of zakat among Islamic financial institutions: Evidence from Bahrain and Malaysia. Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research 12(4): 509-523.
Gengler J, B Shockley & M Ewers. 2021. Refinancing the rentier state: Welfare, inequality, and citizen preferences toward fiscal reform in the Gulf oil monarchies. Comparative Politics 53: 283-317.
Ewers M, A Diop, K Le & L Bader. 2020. Migrant worker well-being and its determinants: The case of Qatar. Social Indicators Research 152: 137-163.
Dicce R, M Ewers, J Poon, Y Chow. 2020. A tale of two pillars: Emergent geographies of Islamic finance in Bahrain and Kuala Lumpur. Arab World Geographer 23(2-3): 89-111
Khattab N, Z Babar, M Ewers & M Shaath. 2020. Gender and mobility. Qatar’s highly skilled female migrants in context. Migration and Development 9: 369-389.
Poon, J, Y Chow, M Ewers & R Ramli. 2020. The role of skills in Islamic financial innovation: Evidence from Bahrain and Malaysia. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity 6: 47 
Dicce R & M Ewers. 2020. Becoming Linked In: Leveraging professional networks for elite surveys and interviews. Geographical Review 110: 160-171.
Diop A, S Al-Ali Mustapha, M Ewers & K Le. 2020. Welfare Index of Migrant Workers in the Gulf: the Case of Qatar. International Migration 58: 140-153