A new boom in town?

The Washington Post reported today on a Saudi program to build 15 new cities meant to stimulate economic growth beyond oil production. A few thoughts.

-Technology is the way to go in this endeavor. If you have an untrained workforce (see below), more money than God, and a landscape not particularly adapted to any ecological pursuits then cutting-edge technologies are a good bet. Learn them, perfect them, and advance them.

-You better believe that incorporating social development aims (women may be allowed to drive!) with greater economic freedoms necessitates political reform. If the royal family does not initiate it themselves then someone else will. And that's less than ideal - for us and them.

-Thankfully management, though not regulatory oversight, will be conducted by the private sector. Only if the royal family respects the decisions and actions of the foreign managers will this be successful. If done properly it will avoid increasing an already inflated bureaucracy. Let the people do their jobs.

Saudi Arabia has weathered one oil boom already. Their industrial and infrastructure development work during the 1970s was the correct move but was not enough to avoid the "oil curse" (26 years later this is more relevant than ever). More than foreign capital and petro-dollars are needed to make this economic reconstruction a success. The most important step remaining is a complete overhaul of the educational system. If this is done quickly and extensively, perhaps native sons can fill the new cities.