Dirhams & Dollars

When Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday that women would be allowed to drive from June 2018, people’s fist reaction was to celebrate a momentous victory for women’s rights. But beneath that celebration, there lies another cause for happiness: Women being able to get behind the wheel may kick start economic activity in Saudi in a big way. On today’s podcast, we discuss the news, and look at its implications for women in the workforce, efficiency, car sales, insurance, and Uber and Careem, among other things. We discuss all the ways that this announcement might benefit Saudi Arabia, not least to mention improve its image internationally, and precipitate some goodwill towards the conservative kingdom.