This report presents a diagnostic study of barriers to private sector participation focusing on young Kuwaitis. The General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development (GSSCPD), Kuwait Public Policy Centre (KPPC) and the World Bank’s behavioral science team, the Mind, Behavior, and Development Unit (eMBeD), partnered to conduct a series of data collection activities seeking to identify key structural and behavioral barriers that prevent higher youth participation in the private sector. The right of every Kuwaiti to work is mentioned in Articles 26 and 41 of the Constitution and in various Emiri decrees. The Constitution also commits to state provision of allowances for housing, health care, education, as well as social security, pensions, and disability benefits. Overall, Kuwaiti citizens tend to co
The case for an Arabian universal basic income
Dec 14,2020 - Last updated at Dec 14,2020
LONDON The notion of a government-provided universal basic income (UBI) has been gaining traction throughout the developed world. Although UBI policies face significant political and fiscal obstacles in the West, the idea is catching on in a region where conditions for introducing a universal cash-grant system are more favourable: the wealthy, oil-exporting Arabian Peninsula.
The Gulf oil monarchies already provide their citizens with very generous benefits, including free education and healthcare, cheap energy, and, most important, an implicit public-employment guarantee. Some two-thirds of employed citizens in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries hold a public-sector job.