n most important regards, the economies of the GCC have been doing exquisitely well during the last decade – but in one critical area, there has been stagnation, if not regression: levels of labor productivity and, closely related, the involvement of locals as employees in the private economy. While public sectors in the GCC are increasingly nationalized, private labor markets remain dominated by foreigners: The share of national employees in the private labor force lies between one percent and a quarter in the various countries of the region.