Development strategy for the United Arab Emirates

Shihab, MA

Abstract

Twenty years ago the UAE was one of the least
developed countries of the world. Now, the UAE has
achieved an income level comparable to that of the
industrialized countries. The UAE did not pass
through the hypothetical development "stages" that
most developed countries are argued to have passed
through. Rather, the UAE's large oil-revenues have
enabled her to move immediately to the stage of high
mass consumption. However, the UAE is still dependent
on the export of a single depletable product, oil, and
would be unable to maintain its economic growth if
there were to be a fall in oil prices.
Looking ahead to the economic development of the
UAE in the twenty-first century, this thesis reviews
alternative strategies of development that take into
account new insights from economics and social
science.
The thesis explores a possible role for exports
of services from the UAE, to diversify the economy and
to sustain economic development. It is claimed in the
thesis that there is a link between international
trade in services and induced "knowledge-based"
growth, which can contribute to development. The thesis concludes that a development strategy
based on knowledge-based services could diversify the
sources of national income in the UAE and sustain
long-run economic growth performance. It explores
further the policy implications of such a development
strategy.

Citation

Shihab, M. Development strategy for the United Arab Emirates. (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Sep 23, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 23, 2011
• Award Date: Jan 1, 1995