Fostering human capital in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries

The formation of human capital (the knowledge, skills, and health that people accumulate over their lifetimes) is critical for the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates). Human capital contributes not only to human development and employment but also to the long-term sustainability of a diversified economic growth model that is knowledge based and private sector driven. The GCC countries face four main challenges: low levels of basic proficiency among schoolchildren; a mismatch between education and the labor market; a relatively high rate of adult mortality and morbidity; and a unique labor market, in which wages in the public sector are more generous than in the private sector and government employment of nationals is virtually guaranteed.

To address these challenges, this report outlines four strategies in a 'whole-of-government' approach: (1) investing in high-quality early childhood development; (2) preparing healthier, better educated, and skilled youth for the future; (3) enabling greater adult labor force participation; and (4) creating an enabling environment for human capital formation These strategies are based on best practices in other countries and feature some of the GCC countries'plans, including their national 'visions', to take their economies and societies further into the twenty-first century. With the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic, the GCC countries face additional challenges that may worsen some pre-existing vulnerabilities and erode human capital. In response, the GCC governments have taken multiple measures to protect their populations' health and their economies. Once the GCC countries return to a 'new normal', they will be in a position to achieve diversified and sustainable growth by adopting, and then tailoring, the strategies presented in this report.

Edited published abstract. Show less