# Exploring Saudi Arabia’s care economy in health, education, and social care: a textual analysis using the care diamond framework

## TL;DR

This study examines Saudi Arabia's care economy in health, education, and social care using a framework to highlight structural gaps and sectoral imbalances.

## Contribution

The paper applies the Care Diamond framework to analyze Saudi Arabia’s care economy, revealing sectoral fragmentation and the marginalization of unpaid care.

## Key findings

- The care economy concept is absent from Saudi policy discourse, with no formal structure in place.
- The state dominates care provision, but coordination across sectors is fragmented and inefficient.
- Unpaid caregiving by women is critical but unrecognized, and community-based care remains under-supported.

## Abstract

The study delineated the care economy in the context of Saudi Arabia by systematically exploring its structure, coordination, and challenges, focusing on healthcare, education, and social care through Razavi’s Care Diamond framework.

A qualitative design with deductive textual analysis was employed to analyse 40 sources (34 webpages, 6 policy documents) from the state, market, community, and family sectors. Purposive sampling identified materials most likely to provide policy-relevant insights. Braun and Clarke’s six-phase thematic analysis guided coding, with NVivo used to organize and synthesise sectoral roles, overlaps, and gaps.

The study identified five interrelated themes: (1) absence of a formal care economy structure, with the concept absent from policy discourse; (2) state dominance as the primary architect of care across all domains, but with fragmented coordination; (3) market sector participation concentrated in high-cost healthcare, with minimal education and no social care involvement; (4) family’s critical but unrecognized role, particularly unpaid caregiving by women, indirectly addressed through employment subsidies; and (5) community sector contributions filling care gaps but remaining inconsistent and under-supported. The analysis revealed strong state control but weak integration across sectors, resulting in duplication, inefficiencies, and the marginalisation of unpaid and community-based care.

Saudi Arabia’s care economy is characterised by state dominance, sectoral imbalance, and fragmented delivery. Formal recognition of all four care diamond sectors, integration of unpaid care into policy, and cross-sectoral coordination are essential to achieving Vision 2030 goals.