The GCC 'welfare state' in the era of low oil prices: implications for the private sector and labour markets

Professor Hertog will discuss the implications of the new oil price environment for welfare systems and state-business relations across the GCC. His presentation will start with an overview of the current fiscal situation across the GCC and compare it with the state the GCC was in at the beginning of the last period of austerity from the mid-80s to the late 90s. It will then compare the policy reactions of the last austerity period with what we know about current policy plans and discussions across the region, highlighting a) a more proactive discussion on policy adjustments in the current phase (notably recent steps on domestic energy pricing reforms, initiatives of economic liberalization and mid-term fiscal planning), but also b) a comparable structural situation in which a large part of government spending is “locked in” through commitments for government salaries, benefits and social transfers. In fact, such politically sensitive components of spending have become larger in the course of population growth across the region compared to the last austerity period, and the "lock in" phenomenon is particularly acute for Kuwait, where current spending on salaries and transfers dominates total spending.

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Event details                  

Speaker: Steffen Hertog, LSE                                         
Date:  Tuesday 8 March 2016                    
Time: 18.00                  
Location: Kuwait Economic Society, House 18, Street 71, Block 7, North Residential Shuwaikh, Kuwait                                        
Attendance: This event is free and open to all.

*If you would like to attend this event please email Ian Sinclair i.sinclair@lse.ac.uk

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Speaker