Economic, social, and political development in Saudi Arabia: A historical analysis

The economy of Saudi Arabia is essentially dependent on oil production which is a depletable resource. Thus, the fundamental question facing the Saudi Arabian economy is whether oil revenue can be used to create a self-sustaining economy. To address this issue, this study will assess the Saudi development plans initiated in the post-1973 period in terms of the level of the development of the productive sectors of both agriculture and industry, and examine the nature of the development process in Saudi Arabia. The agricultural and industrial sectors are considered vital to the economy because of their potential as an alternative to oil. Since economic development is a dynamic process, it is better understood if looked at in connection with the evolution of the social and political structures. Therefore, the economic development in Saudi Arabia is examined and assessed in connection with the social, political, and institutional structures of the pre-oil and post-oil era, specifically the periods 1900-1945, 1945-1973, and post-1973. My structural-historical approach, combined with quantitative data, seeks to examine how the past is related to the present and how a historical understanding will aid in understanding the process of development in Saudi Arabia today.;This study will explain the following issues: (1) Do the industrial and agricultural development schemes in Saudi Arabia promise a self-supporting base and a sustainable economic growth after the depletion of oil reserves? What is the relationship between the Saudi agricultural and industrial policy, as well as human resource policy and the development of a productive economic structure? (2) How have economic, political, and social structures interacted and shaped the patterns of development in Saudi Arabia? Are these structures conducive to the development process and the transformation of the economy? Does a relationship exist between Saudi social structure, which is divided vertically into classes and horizontally into regional, kinship, and ideological interests, and the potential development of the economic structure? How did the bureaucracy and the state interact with the social structure to shape the pattern of development in the country? (3) What is the relationship between the Saudi open economic door policy and the prospect of the development of domestic productive structure? To what extent can the world economy promote industrial transformation in Saudi Arabia? Can it maintain symmetrical interdependence with the developed economies? (Abstract shortened by UMI.).