Why The Gulf States Need To Keep Building Big Dumb Mega Projects | Economics Explained 

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As a massive waste of resources myself, this was very insightful

considering the state of the world and how long the series has been running it might be time to add dates on when the countries were last rated on the leaderboard just for futureproofing before it becomes an issue

The first video I see that actually takes a fairly objective look at this topic instead of just repeating things they saw on the media. Even though don’t agree with everything in the video and I think it overlooked some important information, I still find it very good and informative to those who don’t understand the region. Well done 👏

I appreciate the change in tone while discussing the working conditions for some people there. I come here for the economics, as there are other places to go for news of hardship, but that makes your point and how you delivered it even more poignant, because of how intertwined they are, and how the success of one can be wildly affected by the willful or happenstance ignorance of the other.

Finally, an economics channel that goes into Dutch Disease when it comes to the Netherlands. The term is often applied to Middle Eastern countries and Venezuela yet nothing about how it affected the Netherlands. Thank you, Economics Explained. If you make an entire video going deep into Dutch Disease in the Netherlands, I'd be very appreciative.

The weird thing is that as a Dutch person, I have never heard of Dutch disease until other countries talked about it. The Dutch people never really noticed it like many people think they did.

Sadly, these projects are as strong and permanent as the shifting sand they were built on. Will be impressive ruins as oil wealth tapers away.

Thank you for this video and in general - for talking about economic reality without compromises

The Line is the most dystopian project ever conceived. A luxury prison.

The problem with emulating Singapore or Hong Kong is that they both are geographically suitable. It’s not about the terrain, but they both enjoyed success due to their proximity to rising economies. Hong Kong benefitted tremendously by being the gateway to China for decades. They might still serve the same role, seeing as the Chinese government had yet to relinquish its hold on businesses in the mainland. Similarly, Singapore is the gateway to South East Asia. There’s no safe and fair business environment in the region other than Singapore. Singapore can function as the gateway to other South East Asian projects. The other way also work, since Singapore and Hong Kong are more trustworthy than the economies around it, rather than putting their money back to their home country where it can be taken away in a heartbeat, the money made from legal and illegal activities in the surrounding economies can be transferred to Singapore and Hong Kong. They both served as the financial hub for their environment. This might not work as well, elsewhere, but I can definitely be considered. A small South American country can adopt the same model for South America, and multiple African countries have tried to emulate the same thing. But, for the Gulf region, I think those options can be a little bit more complicated, not least by the political problems, but also that the surrounding countries all have massive wealth of their own to out compete any policies.

Another top notch production! I hated the many macroeconomics classes I sat through in masters programs. And actively learn more here than from esteemed professors.

“Unskilled workers making very little money under appalling conditions under circumstances that mean they are effectively trapped there indefinitely” I think we should use the word we already have for this practice

they should build some good public transit and sewage system first.

The city will cost much more, because the cost is calculated at today’s prices. But the project is large enough to change the prices of the resources needed, so the prices will go up, since it will face scarcity of the factors of production. Local factors are limited, and imported factors are already assigned to other uses which will fight for those resources by rising prices.

Wow, this is actually really insightful analysis when applied to the Mining Industry here in Australia as well. I'd love to see more videos on that... (fellow Australian here). Thanks for the video!

So interesting! Having lived in one of those countries years while working for the airline, I’m glad to see more creators highlighting the labor practices that built the countries.

"Smoothbrain dictator wants a big shiny toy" I like that, I might include that in one my my upcoming videos.

"The Line" is a line because that way people won't be able to revolt in an organized way once they realize that their country's wealth was wasted on a city of the shape of a line.

It's hard to take some of these investments made in the Middle East seriously. Palm islands. Look cool. They're having a problem attracting people to live there, I don't know maybe because most people with enough money to own property there on expensive property that should be part of the sea, WILL become part of the sea in about 50 - 75 years so it's a bad investment for an individual. For that green line in Saudi Arabia I get stuck with the question, why? What does it accomplish? I can't think of anything good about spreading out a city in one big long line. It seems very inefficient no matter what the technology is there to help people get around. A traditional city built to deal with heat would be better. All the resources are centrally located that way.

My last trip home to and from Australia was with Malaysia airlines, was the cheapest option I could find and was just as good as any other I’ve taken. Had to fly to London Heathrow first because I couldn’t get a connection from Switzerland, but otherwise no complaints.

I think that median annual income rather than gdp per capita would be a better ranking for your country list, as this would be a metric that easily conveys how well the average citizen is doing, compared to the average between a few oil billionaires and hundred of thousands of destitute laborers. Just something to think about

I lived in Dubai for 6 months a few years ago and there was definitely the wiff of apartheid. Workers from the subcontinent were 3rd class citizens who weren't allowed in the malls or on the beaches, and who were shipped back to hostels out of town in the dessert every evening in windowless, airconless busses. And having the gardener at my building bow whenever I walked passed made me feel really uncomfortable. I even met an architect from Kenya who had been put up in one of those out-of-town, dessert hostels until one of his white colleagues made a fuss about it. The racism and lack of empathy in the local Emirati population is staggering!

This channel is awesome. I saved a lot of time on reading books and learned a ton of things

The problem with Dutch disease is not that oil internet is corrupt, it's that it has to go through extreme commodity cycles

Nice video EE. I learnt quite a bit out of that. I'm not sure why Singapore is always given as the shining example. I worked there for several years up to 2014 and everyday I saw trucks taking loads of Banglas working for a few bucks a day going everywhere, doing the gardening, picking up rubbish and working on major building sites with basically no safety gear. Not a week went by without a couple of Bangla "bouncer" deaths from construction sites.

I can't even imagine how many tens of thousands of people will die building The Line. That $1 trillion could've been spent way better

When I was in college, my first major before changing was going to be petroleum engineering at a small-town state university in the rural part of a midwestern "flyover" state. A surprisingly large number of those teaching at this mostly rural town were from overseas, and that was where I first learned that countries like Saudi Arabia sent their people over to US colleges like that to learn what they needed to have their own people who knew the industry their wealth depended on. From talking to one particular student from Saudi Arabia, it sounded like an economy entirely shaping itself around the oil industry at a time when the height of public recognition of solar power was a college student project that could barely power a glorified skateboard with a DC motor and a very lightweight passenger for engineering competitions. Even then we Americans knew the region as a dangerous place where dictators kill you for little to no justification, even if that was an exaggeration...though given the news over the intervening years they haven't been all that worried about dispelling that viewpoint. He was more positive about it in some regards as he explained it to me, but he didn't give any illusions that it was a free society.

I’d love to see you do a video on the rise of the service economy. I’ve noticed that a lot of economics are based around the assumption that the majority of people actively produce goods. How has the growth of the service industry in recent decades affected this?

Finally a video which puts some effort to see the actual issue and not just report something from an article. You're doing great mate. Lots of love from India!

Singapore and Vietnam airlines fly to Europe with no stop over in the gulf flown them both and both do the job. Singapore being the preferred

This might be my favorite EE video. Absolutely fantastic analysis and presentation.

I can't believe how accurate and detailed your report is. How much research did you do? It's like you've lived in the middle east for the last 10 years. Legendary work!

Economics Explained: "You may have guessed, it's about Economics." Me, who clicked on a video by ECONOMICS EXPLAINED: "Bro, no way."

Thank you for explaining Dutch Disease in detail. I've heard the term a lot but never gotten a meaty explanation of what it really means.

Wonderful Content and insightful explanation❤️

That was very informative, thanks for your hard work!

I think I only know of 2 projects in the UAE that are actually useful, one is desalination plants and greenhouses that are being used to help bring some form of useful land to the desert.

I always wondered why they don't go for non glamourous but achievable projects. This video made me understand why they need ludicrous projects. Thanks for the video.

There are some useful things being done. In Oman they are working to develop vocational higher education and integrate it with companies by introducing student work placements. Investing in your human capital is a far better thing to do than endless megaprojects

The title initially made me think of the states around the Gulf of Mexico in the USA. They too have had their economies enriched, wrecked, and made dependent on oil. Louisiana especially exports a huge amount of oil and gas yet remains extremely poor. And the kicker is that the companies that are robbing the state of its resource wealth are also increasing their profit margins by cutting shortcuts through the thousands of miles of swamps and marshes that line the coast, speeding up erosion and destroying habitats vital to two of the state's other big industries: tourism and seafood.

This sums it up quite well, thanks for sharing this. Are there any quantitative estimation in their economic plan with mega projects? I'm curious how much it has worked out to increase the overall economic strength and volume of these countries.

I like the way to go indept explaining the basics first Great video

The duch disease theory was a really very usefull explaination that has changed my outlook on so many things

Well done with the Adam Something reference. His videos on both Dubai and NEOM are as fantastic as his sarcasm….

Bean has been living in the gulf for years and is also a business owner here in the Gulf. I think the biggest challenge is the labor cost in the gulf which is very high compared to other Asian countries but a little cheaper than a few western countries. Even amazon delivery is expensive because the company is not getting enough labor. The best way to come out of this is to first target those manufacturing products which are realistically built in the gulf like ship building, Perfumes, Auto parts, Gol, etc., and then slowly services. to be fair I don't think the gulf would survive after the oil is over.

This is one of the most simplistic analyses I have ever seen.

the video is so well made - thank you sir

I don’t think some of the point are nuanced enough. For example, looking at the cheque made by Cartier to reserve a spot at Dubai Mall’s expansion…they make more in that one store than they do in any other store worldwide. This is driven by tourists (other GCC, Russian, South and East Asian mostly). Their tourism isn’t about volume, it’s about spend. They’ve been doing very well there. Dubai is very different than other Emirates and other gulf states when it comes to livability. There has been a noticeable increase in applicants to Dubai from Europe in the past year. Expat life is good in Dubai. Same can’t be said for Saudi for example. In terms of development Dubai’s latest urban master plan stresses livability and a move to sustainability. Dubai never had much oil, this shift is so that they can attract the kind of business and end user profiles they want more of. They’re trying to also built other industries now that they realize they shifted from an over reliance on development to an over reliance on tourism. There has been a quiet development freeze in Dubai. No new projects other than renderings. Old projects can continue. They want to shift away from “iconic” to livable. Not because iconic was a mistake for Dubai. They needed it to get attention. But now that they have it, it’s time for a different strategy. They launched the Gold Visa to further attract people to live there. In a nutshell it’s all about livability now. Saudi is a major problem. They’re trying to replicate the Dubai model when they could’ve went with a far more appropriate model (manufacturing for example, looking at their vast land and human capital). Their developments probably won’t be a success not only because of their ridiculous nature, but if you’ve been on the ground there…they are plagued by incompetent execution teams that are all yes men. They make a lot of money, get fired when things don’t materialize, then go back to the States or the UK with their very cozy savings. No one really cares about the projects they’re meant to realize because they all quietly know they’re ridiculous. Dubai wanted to convince people to come, work, and live. Saudi is trying to shove it down peoples throats. They’re also issuing policies like “if your HQ is not in Saudi, you can’t do any business here”. Which is further making people feel bullied. But again…those sweet savings for 3 years of work…is still alluring to some. Not to say Dubai doesn’t have its issues, definitely does. The labor conditions are a major one. Just trying to add 2 cents on some of the differences.

Thanks for explaining the Line from an economic point of view. It makes sense little bit more, but I think they should have choosen something little more viable. I believe that it is possible to do a megaproject which actually works. But with your explanation, I now understand why they want to have megaprojects.

Thanks for the video! Keep up the great work :D

To take your last question seriously, I flew Cathay Pacific and Thai airlines to Sydney and Melbourne respectively, stopping in Hong-Kong and Bangkok (15 and 4 years ago, though). I guess it's still possible to travel to Indochina in general and change there.

I always love these economic videos. Thank you :)

Every time Norway is mentioned, I grow sad at how much potential we have squandered in Australia, letting our mining and gas wealth flow to multinational corporations.

Very insightful. Learned a lot from this video

Always interesting, thank you.

The fantasy loving child part of my mind adores these massive projects and wishes they were real and feasible. Back in the real world, the Gulf States needs to expand their economies. They have a massive opportunity with the oil wealth to anchor their economies into other sectors.

Would honestly love to see a map printed of the countries that you can't go to once you've looked through every country, would be a hilarious poster x3

I seriously wonder who would like to go on a trip to these countries as a tourist. How many malls and skyscrapers can one see until they are bored of them? And all those vanity projects like the palm island only matters from up high where you can see it! Seriously. Why would anyone want to visit these places as a tourist?!

Such a great and accurate analysis

A video applying the economics explained ranking to Germany would be nice too. Good video !

You can fly with ANA through Tokio for example. My friend flew with PLL Lot (or more specifically within the STAR Alliance) from Warsaw to Manila with a stop in Tianjin.

I'd just like to share the pride I have of our Dutch politicians for making the choice to not go all in on Groningen's gas. I mean, it's probably a big exception in a world of greed and short term gains. And that's admirable!

Thanks for the great video, would it be possible to have similar video on Maghreb countries? Cheers

A video about the rising value of the dollar and its impacts would be extremely interesting

Thank you very much for your explanation of the Dutch disease! This is also probably the cause of shortage of ketchup in communist Czechoslovakia in 1981. The economy was able to produce a lot of steel and cloths, but due to shortage of bottle caps, there was little ketchup in store shelves.

There are direct flights from Europe to India without layover in Gulf. I traveled likewise.

Flights from Australia to Europe: we fly from Sydney -> South Korea -> London. Seoul is a lovely place to spend a day or two and Incheon airport is a fantastic place to refresh on the return leg.

For exactly the reasons explained in the video I always fly to Europe from Australia via Singapore avoiding one of those countries.

Excellent video as usual

Thank you for the lecture

Please we urgently need a video about the UK's economic prospects.

19:10 VERY happy you talked about this even though you didn't have to. I learned about the severity of this issue from doing moonlighting work for very small publications mostly in South India, it changed my perception of these countries whom I used to have brotherly feelings for since they look somewhat like me and we have had connections to them for a long time. I still have brotherly respect for them but I am also aware that a lot of them see my people as less than human. I have had 2 tech job offers from the middle east but I didn't accept the offer letter even with a salary that I can never achieve in India because somethings for me are more valuable than money and my life in India is awesome.

you are underestimating, like Ricardo, the sunk costs of shifting the economy

Single best explanation of Dutch disease.

The neom city reminds me of "worthless" modern arts. They are often used as tax break, so maybe neom might be serving a similar purpose, like divert or direct attention.

According to wikipedia, Saudi Arabia has developed two (2) video games there. With a region filled with money, cheap land and energy, it would be perfect to house a new Silicon valley. But as you noted, the lack of higher education and restrictive culture will let that opportunity sink into the sands...

Informative video! 14:00 Nice quote right there! XD But one question: 10:18 "Advanced understanding"? Are these advanced economics theories? This is trivial compared to the concepts of Physics, Chemistry and Ecology I had to understand whilst studying Biology.

Quick question about the Dutch disease and the PPF curve. If a country discovers new oil fields and their land becomes more productive, then the land curve should only shift on the bottom, for instance if they could produce 40units of oil and 80 consumer goods, then the consumer goods would remain constant because the new oils fields dong interfere with their productivity but the new oil field will now allow them to produce a maximum of say 80units of oil, so why is it a shift that also affects the consumer goods and not just a change in slope where the possible production of consumer goods remains constant but the change in possible oil production increases?

The very last place I'd want to live and work is in one of these countries even if I could earn 10 times the amount there than I'm earning right now. There's something even more important than standard of living and that's quality of living and these place are dearly missing that.

Now this is the quality that first brought me to your channel! Awesome video!

I learned so much from this video!

I'm sure you're aware that Qantas does Non-stop flights from Australia to Europe. Alternatively, and without actually checking, I find it hard to believe there wouldn't be direct flights from Aus to somewhere like South Africa, Egypt or even Madagascar; where you could make connecting flights.

5:35 actually the GBP was always worth more than USD, the recent crash never dipped below 1 USD, and has since recovered to its 1 GBP = 1.12 USD level

2:32 As a proud Canadian, I am pleased to see my country at the top of this list (assuming that I'm seeing the list upside-down from how you posted it in Australia).

It's Persin Gulf BTW. Of note, next to it there is Gulf of Oman and next to it the Arabianb Sea which is attached to the Insdian Ocean; quite fair and historically valid terminology.

Thank you for that. In response to you closing question: My wife and I select any airline that does not stop in the Gulf. In terms of flying time Singapore and Bangkok are reasonably halfway to say Paris. Hong Kong, even, now it's settled down. We once stopped in Tokyo en route to, AFAICR, Sweden. We are elderly+, and if the plane lands we have to stop a night or two. And we're done with Dubai!

Interesting analysis. And probably giving a good idea of what those countries are trying to do. Unfortunately, I believe that they are missing the point of what the end of petrol means. That’s not limited to them having less $ on their account, but also less fuel in the planes (complicated for the national airlines) and therefore less people traveling (so less people coming their way). At some point everything can unravel quite quickly. There is a systemic aspect whenever we talk about energy and petrol…

Personally I think they'd be better off investing in education, building a tech sector and upgrading existing infrastructure. Take Israel for example, for such a small country they have a powerful tech sector that makes them punch above their weight class.

It might be important to point out that Norway was never seriously colonized by European countries, so the comparison to Venezuela might be a bit harsh.

Great video but I think there is one very important mistake in it: you said that Norway's sovereign wealth fund "increases Norway's output by increasing investment returns". This is incorrect; the investment returns from the sovereign wealth fund add to Norway's GNI but don't directly add to its GDP, because the fund only makes investments outside of Norway "to avoid overheating the Norwegian economy" (apparently). But I guess it's easy to make this kind of mistake if you're refusing to make a conceptual distinction between physical and financial capital !😂

What an outstanding video, well crafted and intelligent. Really well done. I commend your logic and evident wisdom. How much time and research went into creating this. Respect.

Flights to 🇪🇺 without stopping over in the gulf: 1. Qantas Project Sunrise, but journeys are not for everyone since most people can only withstand a 10 to 15 hour journey per-leg and not more. 2. Singapore Airlines 3. Malaysia Airlines 4. Thai Airways 5. Various airlines stopping over in Japan and South Korea

Getting🇮🇳 map wrong is upsetting but not angering, u r very welcome to India always! ❤️

I‘m a citizen of the gulf countries you are actually welcomed :) and thanks for talking about this they spend too much money on projects instead of fixing the cities they already have

Besides for simply running out of oil, the big threat to the gulf states' oil industries is the rise of renewable energy, but I feel like that should be good for them. Most of their land is unusable desert, they could coat it with solar panels and/wind turbines

Speaking of middle eastern slave labor. When I used to work for a pile driving equipment rental company a prominent builder in Saudi Arabia rented a pile driving machine for a few years they also "rented" a mechanic around the clock for the duration of the machine rental well when the rent was up they didn't give either up they stole the mechanics passport and made him fix the stolen rig as a "slave". Sooooo yeah it still happens for sure

Wow. Awesome. I subscribed! Enjoyed all the way through. My question was why your closing dig about "send me an airline that does not LO in Dubai" or something close to that lol. Asking.....Is it the inconvenience many of your country men complain about?

It's a great idea to study massive projects that will never finish.

Hey EE can you do a video about tourism. In my opinion it is really dangerous to be over reliant on tourism and developing countries should try to avoid being reliant on it.