The travel & tourism segment has become one of the key contributors to the global economy in recent years. Before Covid-19, travel & tourism accounted for 10.3% of the global GDP and was worth over USD 9 trillion (World Travel and Tourism Council, 2019). One out of four newly created jobs stemmed from this segment in 2019. (World Travel and Tourism Council, 2019).

Consequently, Bahrain aims to become a major tourism hub in the region. The Kingdom seeks to implement strategies and policies to boost its tourism segment, provide a competitive edge, and stimulate the local economy. This will create more jobs and diversify economic activity even further away from hydrocarbon-based activities.

In this article, we will assess the current scenario of Bahrain's tourism segment and discuss potential challenges that may impact the prospects of local tourism in the future. This article will be divided into the following sections: An overview of Bahrain's tourism segment, An analysis of the current tourist portfolio, and a discussion plus policy recommendations.

Since the beginning of the year, the world has experienced rapid and persistently high inflation rates. Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, are estimated to have inflation rates of 18% by Citibank in early 2023 (Schomberg and Miliken, 2022). Such figures for developed nations are rather high, especially compared to their historical trends, where long-run inflation in the UK is approximately 2.6% (Keane, 2022). As inflation rates across multiple developed and developing nations remain high, is Bahrain experiencing a similar trend of high inflation rates compared to its trends?

Carbon Emissions and their relation to climate change are significant and have large societal and economic impacts globally. This has led to ambitious plans worldwide to promote decarbonisation and move away from fossil fuels as a primary energy source, including the GCC countries, with the example of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia pledging to go “carbon neutral” by 2060. This article intends to explore how a carbon trading scheme can help the GCC achieve its “carbon neutrality” status. We explore the following: First, what is a carbon-trading scheme, and what evidence exists of its effectiveness around the world, secondly, we explore the current state of GCC emissions and what these emissions could mean towards the region. Last, we look at the implications of continuous unchecked GCC emissions for the region, and what policy recommendations we can implement to counteract them.

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most significant crises for the global economy. The pandemic had created a situation where nearly most aspects of society had faced a standstill in traditional forms of interactions. The consequences are that multiple sections of society had to suddenly adapt to unexpected conditions of the pandemic. In particular, this article will look at how the education sector in Bahrain adapted to the new challenges brought upon by the pandemic.

Climate change is a worldwide phenomenon that affects every nation. The risks that are part of climate change are increased adverse weather conditions, affecting coastlines, agriculture, and potentially overall economic activity. Although the GCC is one of the most affected regions for climate change, little is quantified about the costs and damages associated with climate change in our region. This article aims to create a simple analysis comparing economic growth vs. unexpected temperature differences for a given quarter.

In Bahrain and the GCC, it’s not a secret that motor vehicles have become the most predominant form of transportation domestically. Motor vehicles are reliable and a convenient form of transportation for Bahrainis and Expatriates. With multiple options, today ranging from sedans to SUVs, compared to the expatriate and Bahraini a century or so ago, the current population of Bahrain more or less are utilizing what would be considered luxury goods then. However, we should ask, at what cost does the rise of these goods have towards the economy? This is what we will explore in our article.

What is the relationship between output and employment in Bahrain? This article takes a quick look at the theory and actual results of what output and employment looks like by nationality in Bahrain. Does an increase in production result in higher employment rates amongst expatriates and Bahrainis? If so, why? Why do we see a relationship between output and employment? These are the items that we will address.

Recently, parliament has been debating the opening of a new 75.4 million Dinar (200 Million USD) tobacco plant in Bahrain, where the factory's approval has been subjected to many delays. Plans for the tobacco plant can be traced back to September 2019, where some MP members have urged such a plant's approval. Currently, Bahrain prohibits the manufacturing of tobacco products since the introduction of tobacco legislation in 2009. MPs have argued that the tobacco plant will generate jobs and growth towards the economy by opening the economy towards another industry and thus support the effort of diversification (although such goods have large externality costs towards society).