In terms of GCC labour market reform, it is in many ways the best of times and the worst of times, as described in Dicken’s introduction to The Tale of Two Cities. On one hand, the speed, scale and scope of change continues to grow. Public sector pay and benefits have been reduced (then reinstated) by 20%, along with new Nitaqat regulations in Saudi Arabia and new maternity leave benefits and expatriate visa conditions announced in the UAE, along with increased international scrutiny on the fair treatment of expatriates, all since our workshop took place in August 2016. The dynamism of this field is centred on an increased recognition of the urgency and importance of reviving the moribund regional labour markets across the GCC. Private sector employers are clearly placed front and centre as the new frontier for nationalization in particular. On the other hand, the resources to invest in greater productivity and positivity in our region’s workplaces are still available and a young, growing and well – educated local workforce could afford the opportunity of a “demographic dividend” as much as a “demographic disaster”.

Nonetheless, it is also clear that achieving the shift to the “post – oil”, “knowledge – based economies” enshrined in the various visions of governments across the GCC within the next decade or so, will not be straightforward. Changing the nature of nationalization policies, fundamentally alters the social contracts established by ruling elites in regard to the distribution of economic rents gained from development based on the exploitation of fossil fuel resources since the middle of the twentieth century. Whilst it is clear that “nationalization 2.0” will remain at the heart of labour market reforms going forward, changing nationalization also has broader social impacts related to nationalism and national identity well beyond innovations in positive discrimination policies to regulate labour markets. Local labour policies lie at the heart of the loyalty and legitimacy nexus within the GCC and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.