Ever since oil was first discovered in the Middle East in the 1930s, the monarchies in the Persian Gulf have generously subsidized energy and utilities costs for the population. While free or very cheap energy has been the cost for the monarchies to comfortably retain power for decades while providing citizens with the abundant natural resources found in their sands and seas, this approach to government subsidies has distorted energy demand in the monarchies in the Gulf—Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, and Qatar.…
