Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and Nitaqat Programmes, Economic Diversification, and Women’s Participation in the Labour Market: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

This dissertation presents the results of a systematic literature review meant to investigate the inefficient allocation of human capital in the Saudi labour market. It specifically questions the impact of high rates of foreign workers in specialised and technical fields, which is theorised to have ultimately led to a high level of remittances, poor skills matching between the needs of the economy and the native population base, and the creation of an inefficient dual labour market. It further focuses on the promised gender-based reforms built into the Nitaqat and Vision 2030 platforms and uses Human Capital Theory as a lens for investigating what obstacles are still in place that prevent a more egalitarian and comprehensive level of economic participation on the part of Saudi women. Ultimately, this paper identifies three important themes that have affected the success of these stated reform objectives: poor skills-matching, poor institutional capacity for developing human capital and incorporating it into the economy, and the Kingdom’s resultant reliance on foreign labour to fill the gaps in its labour market. It concludes by recommending that the country focus more fully on the basic issues of human capital development, rather than on the technocratic, quota- and subsidy-based systems that it has heretofore used to spur a rise in the employment rates of Saudi women.