Omar Alhawas

Taxation is a relatively new reality for Saudis; before the 2018 introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT), the notion of levying taxes on citizens was not only rejected by most but, to some, was un-Islamic and antithetical to Salafi economic teachings. Bin Baz, a well-known Saudi religious scholar

In 1960, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) was facing a major banking crisis. Riyad Bank and Al-Watany Bank, two of the major national banks, were experiencing significant liquidity issues stemming from poor management and bad loans. The two banks’ board members were delinquent and could not meet their

We’ve all been taught in school that banks are a necessary function of monetary economics; we’ve been told that they act as financial intermediaries, where savers supply liquidity to borrowers and investors who demand it. In this fantastical tale, the bank simply redirects existing funds to areas in

Temperatures in urban and rural areas have been steadily increasing globally compared to pre-industrial times, largely due to rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Water shortages, rising sea levels, scorching heat waves, and extreme weather conditions are expected to persist and intensify, disrupting delicate ecosystems and harming vulnerable communities in

Privatization has always been marketed as the medicine for an ailing economy, yet despite repeated disappointments worldwide, developing economies still seek the same free market pill as an answer. We must look at how destructive free-market-friendly policies can actually be, by examining past economic experiments done in the

Usually, when people think of modern labor unions, the first thing that comes to mind is blue-collar work. An image of factory workers or miners pops into their heads. Exhausted from the long hours of manual, backbreaking labor, coming together to form a trade union for safer working conditions,

When the Crown Prince took de facto leadership of the kingdom back in 2016, he promised a massive shift from the oil-dependent economy. He developed a plan to diversify the economy now famously known as Vision 2030. The diversification goal was long overdue given the volatility of oil prices

Since October 7th at least 36,000 Palestinians have been ruthlessly murdered, around 15,000 of which were children. Gaza has been the target of Israeli vicious bombardment for decades, but today the Zionist regime has reached a new peak of wickedness and devastation. As I write this, innocent Palestinians

During the oil boom, the potential for wealth creation through the rapid industrialization and commercialization in the kingdom was apparent. The ruling elites consisting of wealthy royals and business beneficiaries who were closely in touch with said royals began the accelerated effort to turn Saudi from a vacant desert to

Back in 2001, a conference was held by the World Trade Organization to make one of the most economically impactful decisions regarding the lives of billions. The panel consisted of governments across the globe debating whether to let China be a member of the organization and open its borders for