In the Gulf States today, economic activity is characterized by abundant energy resources, large public sectors, small trade-oriented private sectors and cultural norms shaped by Islamic belief and practice. In the early 1990s, governments throughout the region began introducing fiscal consolidation measures. They are now beginning to focus more intensely on long-term structural issues such as the need for financial market deepening, labor market reform and privatization. Devlin explores the potential gains from a microeconomic policy framework targeting entrepreneurial ventures in small and medium-sized enterprises using Islamic institutions such as mudarabah venture capital. An institutional approach to economic policy reform which targets areas of culturally authentic private and public investment has the potential to enhance the sustainability of current reforms as well as deepen the participation of the private sector in structural reform efforts.

The six Arab States of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are all monarchies, but their societies, economies and politi are organised primarily through kinship, in the form of extended families and tribes. No other region in the world consists of states so traditional in their organisation, developing at rates well above global averages, are ultra-modern in many other regards. The book examines the paradox of the persisting importance of family and tribe in the face of modernisation. It evaluates past and present roles of kinship in the GCC states, assesses the impacts of change, and speculates on likely future patterns of social, economic and political organisation. Contributors include Shaikha Hind bint Salman al-Khlifa, Salwa al-Khateeb, Fred H. Lawson, Mandana Limbert, James Onley, J. E. Peterson, Jean-Fraçois Seznec and Ali al-Tarrah.

The UAE sits astride an uncomfortble dilemma in terms of national development and international profile. It seeks to be a regional and global power, both economically and politically, and to achieve this it needs to diversify and become less reliant on a workforce that is made up predominantly of expatriates, many of whom are employed because they have a level of education unavailable among the general citizenry. Alongside a rapid growth in public services and private commerce, education is a stated national priority, with the Ministry of Education setting out in its vision that education should achieve “enduring development for the community.” The UAE higher education sector is growing at an astonishing rate. However, the apparent dilemma results from the call for a rapid growth in educational provision, alongside the desire to produce a functioning and accessible education system in a relatively short time-frame. The UAE is a ‘consumer’ of educational practice, a nation that has a history of buying in the educational models and expertise it requires, as opposed to the lengthier, but possibly better suited, process of building an indigenous education system from the ground up. Developing a truly indigenous and new system to fit the needs of neophyte states – although laborious, expensive and problematic – does allow a nation to mold specifically the needs of the country with the educational systems developed. However, the UAE, through the model of ‘borrowing’ systems and expertise, was able to ‘kick-start’ the development of education in the country, greatly decreasing the time needed to establish formal educational structures. Such a situation may open up questions as to the suitability and efficacy of a predominantly imported educational provision for the indigenous population. The UAE, as a relatively new and emerging economy, has the funds and support of the national leadership to actively pursue and seek educational systems and practices that will advance development and competitiveness. To exam how globalized structures influence education in the UAE and beyond, there needs to be an understanding and awareness of the context in which the education sector functions today. As global economic forces and the labor needs of societies change, then accountability, control and governance of education becomes a contested area of public policy. However, what can be seen is that education is gaining in prominence in the public policy arena, with governments and politicians realizing that in order to be globally competitive, education must produce a skilled and efficient national workforce, placing education firmly in the realm of human capital theory and policy.

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen documents the startling rise of the Arab Gulf States as regional powers with international reach and provides a definitive account of how they have become embedded in the global system of power, politics, and policy-making.

The Middle East is experiencing the world's most prominent youth bulge. Yet many MENA economies' institutional designs, both formal and informal, favor the power of business elites, systematically discriminating against young people joining the workforce or opening businesses, and thus limiting their ability to contribute to innovation. Large youth populations can be a boon or a curse: nurtured and integrated, they can jumpstart stratospheric growth; but if alienated and confined, they can drain a society politically and economically. The Gulf Cooperation Council countries are no exception to this perilous dilemma. This book explores the problem through a new concept, "creative insecurity": a state's subjection to an institutional ecosystem that is suppressing opportunities for innovation--to the extent that it is causing economic and political vulnerabilities, which in turn threaten national security. Creative insecurity threatens the longevity of many states today. In this original, incisive study, Dania Thafer argues that GCC member-states should make it a national security imperative to cash in their demographic dividend, by averting the deleterious effects of ill-disposed elite politics. Investing in an innovation ecosystem that harnesses the talent of the youth majority will be crucial for the GCC's successful transition to the post-oil era.

Reviving Arab Reform seeks to understand the key factors that have inhibited a reliable reform programme in the Middle East following the 2010s Arab Spring riots and unrest. It also provides suggestions for policymakers on how to design, execute, and assess an effective reform program suitable for Arab circumstances.