The Road to Reform: Economic Impact of Women Driving in Saudi Arabia

KSA is the largest country in the Middle East and constitutes most of the Arabian Peninsula (See Exhibit I). The country had a population of 31 million people as of 2017. It has 16% of the world’s proven oil reserves. In 2017, the petroleum sector accounted for roughly 87% of budget revenues, 42% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings. (See Exhibit II and III)

Over the decades, a plentiful oil income had allowed the country to build an extensive welfare system, which provided citizens with well-paid jobs in the public sector. This model worked well as long as the population was small and the oil income plenteous. However, oil prices plummeted in 2014 causing a negative impact on the Saudi state income...