On the evening of November 7th 2018 the Center hosted a lecture by Steffen Hertog, Associate Professor of Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics, titled: "What Would it Take to Transform Saudi Arabia Into a Post-Oil Economy?". It was held in the lecture hall of the King Faisal Foundation building in Riyadh, in the presence of a large number of specialists in political and economic affairs, experts, academics, ambassadors of foreign countries and public figures.

Dr. Hertog walked the audience through a thought experiment of what the Saudi private sector would have to look like in order to provide a tax base to fund current levels of public sector spending. 

The lecture was followed by a lively question and answer session, where members of the audience asked questions about the fiscal constraints facing the state, labour market issues, and which parts of the private sector should be prioritized.

The lecture also provided an opportunity to launch a Special Report written by Dr. Steffen Hertog and published by the King Faisal Center, looking at labour market policy reform. The report can be found here.

The lecture is part of the Center's regular program of seminars, lectures and workshops, and hosting Saudi and non-Saudi specialists to discuss various intellectual, social, political and economic issues.