The Crown Prince and the New Saudi Economy
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s goal of replacing a corrupt feudal state in Saudi Arabia with a Western-orientated market economy is doomed to be elusive unless he stops acting like a despot and rules like a reformer.
When Prince Mohammed announced his highly ambitious national transformation plan in 2016, he promised to privatize state assets, create 1.2 million jobs in the private sector and cut unemployment to 9 percent by 2020. It was rehashing an old panacea — weaning the kingdom off its addiction to oil.
Prince Mohammed has made progress. He has lowered obstacles to women’s participation in the work force, cut subsidies on utilities and raised indirect taxes.… Seguir leyendo »