Economic Diversification and Oil Revenuesin the Arab Gulf Countries - The Case of Saudi Arabia

Iran-Gulf relations are a confusing maze of complexities and contradictions. Iran’s voracious aspirations have been manifest in more than one act and place. The 1979 Revolution created a pervasive atmosphere of anxiety and fear in the Gulf region of that revolution’s ideological expansion into the Gulf states, especially those countries in which Shiites form important parts of their societies. In the Iran-Iraq war 1980, on the other hand, the Arab Gulf states supported Iraq against Iran as it was a proxy war to protect the Arab Gulf states, and Saddam Hussein, nevertheless, ended up occupying Kuwait in 1990. And then the Iranian-Gulf relations took a new turn at the time of both presidents Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami, who adopted an open approach to the Gulf countries. However, those relations worsened when Ahmadinejad came to power as he started to export the revolutionary thought to the Gulf countries and extended the Iranian influence to Iraq after 2003, to Syria in the aftermath of the revolution that erupted in Syria in 2011 and to the Gulf Cooperation Council states, especially in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain. All this comes at the expense of the Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia, which is keen to maintain its influential role in the face of Iranian encroachment in Syria, through the support of the Syrian revolution, which seeks to overthrow Iran's ally in Damascus, Bashar al-Assad. Therefore, this study is trying to find an answer to this question: how has sectarian conflict in Syria impacted the Iranian-Gulf relations?

Download Full-text

Economic Diversification and Job Creation in the Arab Gulf Countries: Applying a Value Chain Perspective

When Can Oil Economies Be Deemed Sustainable? - The Political Economy of the Middle East ◽

10.1007/978-981-15-5728-6_11 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 281-300

Author(s):

Martin Hvidt

Keyword(s):

Value Chain ◽

Job Creation ◽

Economic Diversification ◽

A Value ◽

Gulf Countries ◽

Arab Gulf

Download Full-text

Impact of Saudi Arabia's Sugary Drink Tax on Prices and Purchases (P10-066-19)

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzz034.p10-066-19 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Reem Alsukait ◽

Parke Wilde ◽

Sara Bleich ◽

Gitanjali Singh ◽

Sara Folta

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Value Added ◽

Energy Drinks ◽

Energy Drink ◽

Substantial Impact ◽

Excise Taxes ◽

Gulf Countries ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Arab Gulf ◽

The Impact

Abstract Objectives Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) has been associated with weight gain and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Use of governmental policies, such as taxation, to reduce SSB consumption, has been successful in a number of global settings. However, the impact of such tax has not been examined in Arab Gulf countries where prevalence of obesity is high, and a unified excise tax was adopted in 2016. This tax increased the price of soda and energy drinks by 50% and 100% respectively, making it the largest beverage tax to date. date. Saudi Arabia was the first of the six Arab Gulf countries to implement these taxes in June 2017, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar. Saudi Arabia additionally added a 5% value added tax (VAT) to their beverage tax in 2018. We describe the impact of these excise taxes by examining price changes and purchases of taxed beverages pre-post taxation in Saudi Arabia Methods This is an observational study of a natural experiment with a pre-post design. The Saudi General Authority for Statistics’ national-level monthly survey of average prices for soda from 2009–2018 was used to describe the changes in the prices of the taxed beverage before and after the tax's implementation. The 2004–2018 Euromonitor annual volume sales data for Saudi Arabia was used to describe the changes in soda and energy drink sales. Results Post beverage and VAT implementation, annual pruchases (volume per capita) of soda and energy drinks were reduced by 41% and 58%, respectively in 2018 compared to 2016. During the same time period, soda prices prices increased by 67% compared to the announced 55% tax rate (price per can from 1.5 to 2.5 Saudi Riyals). Prior to the implementation of excise taxes, soda prices have been consistent in Saudi Arabia, except for one price increase by manufacturers in 2010 (Figure 1). Conclusions These results highlight the substantial impact of excise taxation on the reduction of soda and energy drink sales in Saudi Arabia and contribute to the growing body of global evidence on the effects of SSB taxation on consumption, especially in other Arab Gulf countries that have implemented a similar tax structure. Funding Sources Reem Alsukait is a doctoral student supported by King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. Supporting Tables, Images and/or Graphs

Download Full-text

India and its Diaspora in the Arab Gulf Countries: Tapping into Effective ‘Soft Power’ and Related Public Diplomacy

Diaspora Studies ◽

10.1163/09763457-00502002 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 124-146

Author(s):

Rhea Abraham

Keyword(s):

Soft Power ◽

Public Diplomacy ◽

Gulf Countries ◽

Arab Gulf

Download Full-text

The pattern, sources, and growth of remittances to Pakistan: The kinked exponential approach

Journal of Research in Emerging Markets ◽

10.30585/jrems.v2i1.383 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Syed Rashid Ali

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Exponential Model ◽

Phase Iii ◽

Growth Phases ◽

The Third ◽

Gulf Countries ◽

Positive Growth ◽

The Uk ◽

Second Period ◽

Negative Growth

This paper examines the pattern, sources and growth of remittances to Pakistan. It analyses the growing trend of remittances and share of remittances to GDP over the period 1972-2014. We use the kinked exponential model (Boyce, 1986, 1987) to estimates the growing trend of remittances in Pakistan. The results show that remittances received by Pakistan have three distinct growth phases over the study period – Phase I (1973 – 1983), Phase II (1984 – 2000) and Phase III (2001 – 2014). The remittances received by Pakistan have positive growth during the first and the third period while the second period shows negative growth. Before globalization, the UK was the major source of remittances to Pakistan but after globalization, the sources of remittances to Pakistan have been cantered on Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other Gulf countries.

Download Full-text

The Effects of Money Laundering (ML) on Growth Application to the Gulf Countries

Cyber Warfare and Terrorism ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-2466-4.ch084 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1428-1441

Author(s):

Fakhri Issaoui ◽

Toumi Hassen ◽

Touili Wassim

Keyword(s):

Logistic Regression ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Money Laundering ◽

Logit Model ◽

Terrorist Financing ◽

Positive Effects ◽

The Third ◽

Suspicious Transaction ◽

Gulf Countries ◽

Strategic Goal

The strategic goal of this paper is to study the effects of the prevention policies against money laundering on growth in the gulf countries (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE and Oman) from 1980 to 2014. Thus, the logistic regression (logit model) had given three fundamental results. The first had shown that the main policies in matter of fight against money laundering (anti money laundering law AMLL, suspicious transaction reporting STR, the criminalizing of terrorist financing CTF) have had positive effects on the increasing of probabilities to realize more growth. The second is that the said policies have had positive effects on the increasing of the degree of openness of the whole sample. The third is that the variable (proximity) had a positive and significant effect on anti-money laundering policies.

Download Full-text

Major Factors Causing Construction Delays in Mecca

Journal for the Advancement of Performance Information and Value ◽

10.37265/japiv.v7i1.55 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 75 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ghazi Saad A Elawi ◽

Mohammed Algahtany ◽

Dean Kashiwagi ◽

Kenneth Sullivan

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Infrastructure Projects ◽

Average Delay ◽

Gulf Countries ◽

Underground Utilities ◽

Research Findings ◽

Research Gap ◽

Major Factors ◽

The City ◽

Holy City

Delays are a major cause for concern in the construction industry in Saudi Arabia. This paper identifies the main causes of delay in infrastructure projects in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and compares these with projects around the country and other Gulf countries. Data was obtained from 49 infrastructure projects undertaken by the owner and were analyzed quantitatively to understand the causes and severity of delay. 10 risk factors were identified and were grouped into four categories. Average delay in infrastructure projects in Mecca was found to be 39% of the estimated projects schedules. The most severe cause of delay was found to be the land acquisition factor. This highlights the critical land ownership and acquisition issues that are prevailing in the city. Additionally, other factors that contribute to delay include contractors’ lack of expertise, haphazard underground utilities (line services), and re-designing. It is concluded that the majority of project delays were caused from the owner’s side as compared to contractors, consultants, and other project’s stakeholders. This finding matched with the research findings of the Gulf Countries Construction (GCC) industry’s literature. This study fills an important practice and research gap for improving the efficiency in delivering infrastructure projects in the holy city of Mecca and Gulf countries at large.

Download Full-text

Immigrants in the Arab Gulf Countries: ‘Sojourners’ or ‘Setders’?

The Politics of Arab Integration ◽

10.4324/9781315685113-17 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 171-194

Keyword(s):

Gulf Countries ◽

Arab Gulf

Download Full-text

The Gulf Monarchies Face the Twenty-First Century

A Tale of Four Worlds ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190061715.003.0006 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 103-132

Author(s):

Marina ◽

David Ottaway

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Arab World ◽

National Identities ◽

First Century ◽

Indigenous Populations ◽

Political Repression ◽

Economic Changes ◽

Gulf Countries ◽

Crown Prince ◽

Regional Primacy

The six Gulf monarchies form a distinct bloc within the Arab world. Saudi Arabia seeks to dominate it and is presently entangled in a struggle for regional hegemony with Iran. The 2011 uprisings failed to overturn any of the monarchies,which all became acutely aware of the threat that these uprisings posed, andthen chose to accelerate reforms in response. Five of the Gulf countries have tiny indigenous populations, most outnumbered by foreign workers. They also haveenormous oil or gas wealth andambitious 2030 visions for development. In addition, the five all face the double challenge of having an expansionist Iran and domineering Saudi Arabia as neighbors. Since independence from Britain in 1971, they have dedicated themselves, several with notable success, to establishing modern states, national identities and a global stature. Meanwhile, under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi kingdom is finally undergoing radical social and economic changes in the midst of unprecedented political repression and major resistance to the Saudi bid for regional primacy from both Iran and other increasingly independent-minded Gulf monarchies.In addition, U.S.-Saudi relations, the bedrock of Saudi stability and security, are deteriorating.

Download Full-text