Could vision 2030 reforms destabilize Saudi Arabia?

Abstract

Last month Saudi Arabia's 31-year-old deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) proposed a bold economic plan to end the kingdom's "addiction" to oil by 2030. MBS' "Vision 2030" would transform the Saudi economy by reforming the bureaucracy, bolstering the private sector, and building the world's largest public investment fund. Vision 2030 is also a promise to the kingdom's youth for greater opportunity and a more efficient and transparent government. With plunging oil prices and a budget deficit expected to reach 13.5 percent of GDP, Saudi Arabia clearly needs bold reforms.