萨勒曼执政以来的沙特经济改革述评

A Review on Saudi Arabia's Economic Reforms Under the King Salman

沙特经济的特点是由国家主导、以石油收入分配为核心。非石油行业及私营经济的发展因依赖政府高额财政补贴而缺乏独立性,家族企业垄断私营经济,过度依靠外籍劳工等特质,构成了沙特经济的基本面貌。萨勒曼国王执政以来,沙特施行了推动私有化进程、吸引外资、扩大主权基金投资等一系列改革措施,但经济改革仍受到诸多内外因素的制约。一方面,家族政治和威权治理模式的掣肘、就业人口技能与劳动力市场需求脱节、食利经济模式的惯性和经济结构改革之间的矛盾、既得利益集团对改革进程的阻挠等国内因素,严重制约着改革措施的实施及其成效。另一方面,地缘政治紧张局势、地区国家间的同质化竞争、国际能源市场的动荡和突发事件对沙特的冲击,都是沙特在重塑本国经济、建立新社会契约过程中面临的外部挑战。

Saudi Arabia's state-dominated and oil-based economy led to the lack of independence in development of its non-oil industry and private sectors characterized by reliance on subsidies,monopoly of family business,and over-reliance on foreign workers.Since the King Salman took office,the Kingdom has undertaken a set of economic reform measures including promoting the process of privatization,attracting foreign investments and expanding sovereign-wealth fund investments,however,economic reform is still constrained by many internal and external factors.On the one hand,interior factors such as royal family politics and its authoritarian governance,mismatching between the skills of employed population and the needs of the labor market,contradictions between the inertia of rentier economy and the economic structural reform,and vested interest groups obstruction of the reform process are hindering the implementation of reforms and their effectiveness.On the other hand,Saudi Arabia is faced by external factors in the reshaping its own economy and establishing a new social contract,including geopolitical tensions,homogeneous competition among Gulf monarchies,continued oil market turmoil and chain effects of regional incidents.