Why The Gulf States Need To Keep Building Big Dumb Mega Projects | Economics Explained
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 พ.ค. 2024
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Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and other oil rich Middle Eastern states have announced plans to collectively invest trillions of dollars in new megaprojects, the most extreme of which is Saudi Arabia's $1 trillion 170km skyscraper called The Line. Why are these countries spending so much on mega projects and does it make any economic sense?
0:00 - 2:33 Intro
2:34 - 3:23 Trends
3:24 - 6:06 Dutch disease
6:07 - 10:25 Rybezynski's theorem
10:26 - 11:49 Dependence on oil
11:50 - 12:48 Norway example
12:49 - 13:50 Sovereign wealth funds
13:51 - 16:10 Mega projects
16:11 - 17:19 Tourism
17:20 Attracting businesses
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The same as China building ghost cities, bullet trains to nowhere , hundreds of thousands of dams
Can you make a videos about both current nations and economic history?
I am interested in a video discussing the economic history of Yugoslavia and the Ottoman Empire.
I love your little bit about places you can't travel to lol
especially being "reeducated" in China
Not predicting a future paying customer correctly (causing deficit spending) could be seen as an accident. that inflation being an accident. We should hold these bad businessmen responsible. Tax them to balance the budget. Like I pay a higher interest rates for bad credit.
Don't know how to pay for it is called stealing.
But building Space Mountain so I come spend money on an overpriced dinner is smart economics. Tax the overpriced dinner to pay for Space Mountain. ON A BALANCED BUDGET. Brilliant! The man did build a perfect city.
Too bad predatory lenders got involved. looking for a cash cow on capital investments.
As a massive waste of resources myself, this was very insightful
😂
I feel this comment deep in my soul
Clearly you have no shortage of wit.
i felt that
Relatable
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
It's on the description as well as beside the title.
The list is completely meaningless anyway.
Yes
@@pierrestober3423 they're the centerpiece of the whole series
Yeah, since the UK government saw it and is currently attempting a speed-run to the bottom
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.
Can't come soon enough!
that's going to take a solid 50 years at least before it's viably replaced
Oil wealth isn't going away anytime soon. The scarcity and rarity of oil is artificial, just like diamonds.
@@hassan_codes are you even aware that now cost of renewable energy is below crude oil?
By 2050 many countries had signed to 100% convert to renewable energies.
Definitely Oil demand will sink down in the coming years.
@@monke6669 I'd say they at LEAST have 15-20 years before oil would get some significant drops (in terms of income, not overall quantity) because of the energy conversion.
Energy development isn't like technology development, there are many aspects outside the technicalities with oil as energy resources still use oil in its standards/regulations (like aircraft or military) ESPECIALLY military theres no way they would convert 100% electric, so it takes a lot of time to fully develop.
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 👏
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.
In Canada are elm trees are in trouble.
They have Dutch elm disease (DED) .
At first that is what I thought he was talking about. LOL
Caucasians always want it to be about them
I haven't double checked, but I think he already did.
@@theunstopablebullet yes the one about the netherlands being the most unequal nation (that's the title) I THINK
Idk if he references Dutch disease, but he did make a video on the Netherlands. Jorge on track with the title
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.
Because government, to cover their incompetence, they hid it from the people.
Are you familiar with the Dutch Elm Disease?
How about the concept of 'going Dutch'?
Swamp German
Dutch itself sounds like a disease
@@gung2549 Lowland Austrian
“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
Does it start with an S and rhyme with rave?
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.
Or a great 3 dimensional place for a protest
I think it's the original definition of Utopia. Because I don't think it's ever getting built.
You only need to look at Jeddah to see what The Line's future will be like.
The Australian governments are very interested in the concept.
How
Imagine doing anything that goes against their dictatorship….instantly banished into the desert to starve.
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.
Panama
Rwanda, Botswana, Ghana, Djibouti, are all well in Its way to do the same thing in their respective regions as Hongkong and Singapore did in Asia.
@@Churros1616 trying to do the same thing and successfully doing it are very different. And I am pretty sure they will fail.
I was in HK a few months ago. Honestly, that model of being the gateway to China is starting to fade. People are simply going straight to China now. Also, HK feels dated, little construction, falling condo prices, outward emigration. I’m currently in Shanghai and it’s crazy how futuristic it feels. Competent infrastructure, clean place, respectful people, high technology, no potholes, no bad driving. I think the sin city type model will be relegated to only a few cities. For a city to thrive, the housing country should have a strong economic base and not mostly rely on: if you build they will come.
Lol. The only reason Singapore and Hong Kong did well is because they were under British Rule. Let's be frank. What is HK today being under Chinese rule? No thanks. And Singapore is just a money cleaning capital with nothing to its name but a ton of Han chinese immigrants fleeing China with their wealth.
The problem with Dutch disease is not that oil internet is corrupt, it's that it has to go through extreme commodity cycles
This is why the Gulf countries are trying to diversify their economies away from oil
“oil internet”???
Also..
Where did he say "corruption"?
The name is a tribute to the fact that, in Holland in the 1960s, a discovery followed by a large export of natural gas
appreciated the exchange rate and supposedly would have lowered the revenues of other exporters.
The argument is the same old mercantilism.
The first question is: so what? Destroy the country? Is the Netherlands impoverished? Turned into an Africa? So it is. This theory does not hold.
This "Dutch disease" theory is successful only in underdeveloped countries, whose economies are controlled by protectionists and mercantilists.
However, it is worth mentioning that "Dutch disease" occurs precisely in a floating exchange rate scenario. With a fixed exchange rate by a Currency Board, which is the most conducive arrangement for developing countries, there is no Dutch disease.
All rich countries in the Middle East that export oil work with a fixed exchange rate against the dollar. In practice, it's like were on a gold standard, only with the dollar in place of gold. The principle is the same.
@@antoniofromthemoon4090 problem is gulf countries lack in even basic resources like agriculture land and water
@@arungupta3838 that's not a problem. Singapore has these same "problems".
and you in your house too, but instead of trying to produce everything in your backyard, you just work on what you are good at (producing oil for example) and use the money to buy what you need.
the problem with countries is protectionism, and the problem with people is to think that a "country", which is nothing more than an abstraction, really exists and does business. states do not buy or sell anything, only individuals.
gulf countries don't need to spend money on megaprojects, they spend it because that's what a state with few competent people and a lot of money does, it would make more sense to spend that money on many small projects that imitate organic development instead of spending it building entire cities from scratch, for example, think of paris or copenhagen...
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.
You’re right. What’s interesting is that the labour practice that built the west was based on slave labour. At least Arab countries are paying their labourers somewhat. Every country has to start somewhere. At least they’re not going on slavery. People choose to work for low pay vs being forced to work for no pay.
@@minanoor4949People can be a slave even if they aren't called a slave. Many foreign laborers in these countries were taken there through criminal means (fraud) and cannot leave or change jobs. Slavery conducted by the west was abhorrent - some of the current labor practices are abhorrent too.
@@minanoor4949 Arab countries had slavery too, some until quite recently! It's not about comparing who is worse, but rather about making sure we learn from the past and have a better future. The west of the 19th century is a very low bar and we should be aiming higher than that
It wasn't for free.
"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.
snowpiercer vibes
But life is in 3D
This is non sense
That's a Non sense project...but more Importantly who is that Inhuman Architect who proposed that design??
Wouldn't a line be quite literally the worst possible shape for a city when it comes to transport, logistics, and utilities? I mean, I get trying something new, but this feels like they're arguing with geometry.
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.
¿Ofrece tutorial de tutoría? ¿Puedo copiar su comercio? ..
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.
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.
There is huge value to both. Fast information isn’t necessary more valuable in the long run and deeper understanding. No im not a professor
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
Probably even in the hundreds of thousands tbh
Probably a lot less... Because I can't see it ever getting that far. This isn't the first time Saudi Arabia has tried to build a new, prosperous city out of nothing, and the ruins of the first are all there, plain to see. Jeddah was less ambitious, and it never really got off the ground. The line? The octagon port city? I'd be amazed if they break ground over more than a kilometre, much less build to completion.
No one will die cause it clearly won't be built.
And there's no reason to build those Non sense projects...cities aren't built like that
@@coolandgood0062 I hope so.
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!
That's terrible!!!!
That was very informative, thanks for your hard work!
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!
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
But we aren't trying to measure fairness
I think that the GDP is also not a good metric - it correlate with the size of the population and that is not an economic achievment. GDP per capita is much better and it would be good to show both: GDP per capita and median income, and compare them.
@@samuela-aegisdottir I think gdp should be on there, as it relates to how strong a country's economy is (i.e. why US sanctions are so effective against Iran is that they make up approximately 25% of the world's economy). Alternatively, Sweden placing sanctions on a country would have very little impact, despite the relative wealth of their individual people. I just think we need one factor in the ranking that considers individual wellbeing. I think a country with a relatively spread out wealth should rank higher than a country with the same gdp where all of the wealth is held by one person, while the rest of population starved. The current ranking system would not consider this, unless you considered education and corruption to incorporate this.
Also don't forget that it has to be median income per capita ajusted for purchasing power.
Many factors influence purchasing power, and it is the reason why Poland has an average PPP adjusted salary of $2600 a month, while Italy with an income much higher, only gets $2800 a month in purchasing power.
@@theodorbutters141 average income does not represent an average citizen in most countries, its too skewed by inequality.
Thanks for the video! Keep up the great work :D
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 met some too when I was living in a small-town for a bit. They were by far some of the most dumbest people I've ever met. I kept wondering how in the world did they get into the Universities when they don't know anything nor want to try. Then I realized their government is paying their way in. EE got two things wrong: They do provide welfare and they have a major issue regarding over-saturating their society with college grads who have no skills. What is worse is they ALL get the same major or similar majors or they don't even have an industry in their country for what they went to school for. On top of that, from the dumbest person to the smartest, they all have degrees. There is no such thing as healthy competition. And on top of all of that, they think by some miracle, they'll beat other countries economically....the delusion is real with them.
Fun people to talk to though.
Hi
@@stefanoscagliotti4341 Hello.
Couldn’t the consistently intense heat of the sun in the dessert be a natural resource??
@@al-imranadore1182 It's an energy resource, and not a very portable one. Transmission over wire has power loss over distance. That means anything done with the energy needs to be local, so they have to come up with a new industry to make use of it producing something to export profitably. There are people working on exactly that problem in a lot of areas with arid, higher temperature climates.
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!
He's a good creator and his last video was informational but he got the map soooo wrong. The only reason I didn't like it! Many foreign TH-camrs atleast show Indian Kashmir and then POK and Aksai chin but he didn't even show Jammu and Ladakh as ours
@@Kushagra.j Did you see the end of the video? He's banned from India because he got the map wrong hahaha
@@_Wombat No he is not lol.
@@ReligioCritic I mean it as a joke, as does EE - I know he's not actually banned from these countries :D
Lot of up Biharis don’t have jobs. This is what they do when bored, get angry at people for maps and stuff
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.
because shiny building!!!!
thank you for highlighting this. as a Filipino, I feel like my people has been treated as an expendable meat sack across the world including Sibgapore
@@ezekiel0606 too right mate. You’re the nicest people in the world and probably most exploited. I work with Filipino colleagues everyday and it is such a pleasure
@@ezekiel0606 Tbf your govt. practically encourages it, as its main export industry.
It's about economics. My company (as in I work there, not I own it) has recently moved all it's Asian business there, it's a good if not the best place for doing business in that part of the world. Can't claim to have an insider perspective, but your concerns don't seem to be about the economic situation of the country as a whole but rather the wealth of a specific group or concerns outside of economics
Wonderful Content and insightful explanation❤️
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
Economics Explained: "You may have guessed, it's about Economics."
Me, who clicked on a video by ECONOMICS EXPLAINED: "Bro, no way."
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
Both excellent airlines. EVA are also good. They fly direct to Europe without stopping.
Qantas has direct Perth-London and Perth-Rome flights
Scoot is a long haul budget airline flying straight from SG to berlin in 12h. If you don't need the service of a buisiness class and can stomach bringing your entertainment on your own tablet that's a valid option from AUS.
It is essentially 12 h of barebones buget airline flight but it gets you there straight.
@@notrelevant6702 In my country, no chance. The alternative: Flying United Airlines to Newark and then fly from there to points in Asia on them.
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.
This might be my favorite EE video. Absolutely fantastic analysis and presentation.
"Smoothbrain dictator wants a big shiny toy" I like that, I might include that in one my my upcoming videos.
which smoothbrained dictator did you not roast so far though?
then again, the supply of smoothbrained dictators seems to never dry up.
+Adam Something the *legend* speaks! I never thought that I would encounter the train man himself here!
@@thedoruk6324 did you not watch his video on NEOM?! Legendary!
@@sarahrosen4985 i did it was epic
It's not the first time and probably won't be the last that I'm talking about the expatriate workers in the Persian Gulf, if you want to hate the authoritarian ruling families.
Do what you want. In fact, as a citizen of the Arab Gulf seeks democratic rule, I will be grateful to you for this.
But these three governments in the past years, have changed a lot of laws in order to address the abuse of labor by private companies and supervisors.
(And by the way, these supervisors come from the same countries as the workers)
So far, no one wants to talk about these laws or suggest realistic laws that are better for these workers when talking about this issue.
And no one wants to talk about the responsible developing countries from which these workers and managers come ,
And about the labor recruitment companies registered in these developing countries that steal these workers in order to come to the Arabian Gulf,
And about the responsibility of these developing countries, at least, to prevent the arrival of these workers if these countries are really so bad,
So far, no one wants to talk about this issue with fairness and justice.
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.
CGP Grey's video "Rules for rulers" further explains the political implications: th-cam.com/video/rStL7niR7gs/w-d-xo.html
This channel is awesome. I saved a lot of time on reading books and learned a ton of things
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?
Dessert countries heavily relied on service industry before oil was used in cars.
Historically seen the service industry creates one thing : ignorants. Germany before 1933, USA and GB after the 1980s and the most of the Middle East countries had/have hyperthrophed service industry. You can see the results on the politics of these countries.
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.
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.
Who in their right mind would eat what comes from the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico????
I am German and even I know that this area is poisoned.
There are many Gulfs in the world.
This refers to the Persian Gulf.
I am aware. That's why I said "the title initially"@@Makrel94
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?!
You'd be amazed how easy it is to blind people with money
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!
If only they saved the returns into a fund like Norway instead of pissing it away on social measures.
I always love these economic videos. Thank you :)
Well done with the Adam Something reference. His videos on both Dubai and NEOM are as fantastic as his sarcasm….
The other reference (0:37) - DamiLee's video about Neom, is also amazing. She is an architect and explains flaws of the Line very well.
adam is also dumb sometimes lol. some of his takes on russia-ukraine war so lame that bruh had to delete his community post few times. i stopped taking him seriously after those posts.
except the dubai video literally has lies in it and is borderline racist.
I watched a couple of videos from that channel, and the guy appeared to be some kind of Euro-nationalist-supremacist socialist, which is a very disrurbing combination of traits. Not a channel for me, as I abhor nationalism and supremacists.
@@mechantl0up fair enough mate! Personally, while he may be a socialist, I don’t particularly think he’s any of the other things you’ve conflated it with, but We’re all entitled to our own opinions. He also quite likes trains. I hate trains but I don’t hold it against him lol
Always interesting, thank you.
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.
⛔All that concrete with water from desalination plants,...🪟🏗🧮🤔🪣🐫🌴
@@referencefool6525why not build more? I've never understood that, seemingly infinite $
@@factFILESorFiction 🧂💦🏜 Why Is Desalination So Difficult? th-cam.com/video/mxqOPdEUNTs/w-d-xo.html
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.
Good question. Saudi Arabia could achieve more with boring legal reformations and they would be cheaper too.
@@Sedna063 Thats not how the economy works.
What this channel missed is that these projects are brand marketing very expensive brand marketing but they make sense if you thought of the entire country as one giant company, think when Nike pays 80M+ to have their little tick logo in European soccer team shirt
There are many other achievable projects but nobody talks about them cause they are not glamourous enough
@@AL-lh2ht and how ir work them, wasting any money they can use to create other types of industry and start to not depend in oil, just in absurd "megacities" or "megaprojects" tha probably wont pay the cost and manteinance in the future? , pasing reforms to avoid such levels of corruption and stupidity are worse than in practice burning money?
the video is so well made - thank you sir
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!
Accurate and detailed? This must be a joke right? Everything he said is complete BS. It looks like that he made this video without even researching.
@@TheAliXxD so true. not to mention the annoying accent..
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.
Nice observation
Did you see Adam Something's video on Dubai?
@@samuela-aegisdottir He is a socialist, meaning he is economically illiterate and anti-capitalism, so his opinions are irrelevant. Dubai is very successful and is booming, tons of successful people from The West coming because of problems in their home countries.
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.
Forget Golf...has India done all this...which you are preaching?? Except Service sector...which other sector has put India on a global stage??
@@jioboy2676 yes pharmaceutical, IT services these are the sectors where india is global leader. Indian economy is very stable ,in the items when all neighboring countries economics are failing like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and china, indian economy looks great
@@jioboy2676 haha fool ! India got title of world pharmacy ! We provide most generic medicines in the world ! 5 out of 1 medicine come from India ! 😎✌🏻
Go check India's hold share of 54 % of world's generic medicines total supply
@@jioboy2676 and do not forget our agriculture industry! We have currently food surplus ! In old times 🙂 we had issues with cold storages and so many small issues which already solved ! Now we have food surplus! In India not much inflation even whole world in reccesion like situation!
Last quarter gdp growth is 13.2 %
Overall growth gonna be 8.2-7.1% as per World Bank and IMF
@@svanimation8969 This year GDP growth won't cross 6.5% max....
The Pharma industry of India is mostly Generic...very less actual Research is being done
I like the way to go indept explaining the basics first
Great video
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.
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...
When you get money before you have a functional brain
@@prathyushareddy9404 we can say the same for india.
@@af98 we're not that stupid, but still having ugly caste system that just knocks a lot into the same shithole.
@@af98 they don't have money lol but we have brain that's why we are top in it along with usa and china. Not even eu is top in it
@@af98 india already has one world largest I industry and brilliant people
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.
That is a lot of words to say you dont like arabs.
The typical procedure is you go to the UAE or Qatar (not Saudi Arabia), live there for a couple of years, make great money, and leave.
Skilled expats don't stay there for very long (unlike unskilled expats, who are basically enslaved).
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.
Such a great and accurate analysis
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.
If only the rulers had the mentality to care.
we need to focus on putting that “oil wealth” (no idea where anyones getting the idea that these states are wealthy, save maybe texas. mississippi does spend a lot on their nat guard military, but those states are just poor) into something like. social services. louisiana is incredibly behind in education and basic healthcare. and housing. there’s not anything louisiana should do until they do that. anyone suggesting anything else has no understanding of the south or of their economic crisis. this economics explained dude definitely don’t.
unironically i think The Line would be a great setting for a show or a video game
@@lyndsiedavis4490 bro i was so confused i thought you were being serious with your comment for a second you nearly got me😂😂
This video was pretty shellow.The reality is they are. He didn't even mention that every gulf state has a very detailed ten year econoomucal development plan that they all except for Saudi Arabi have been meeting. And their plans are more then ""just make more buildings" Seriously look up these countries economy plans.
Also for some reason he forgott to even mention three of the other gulf states that have the same exact situation.
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.
"My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I drive a Mercedes, my son drives a Land Rover, his son will drive a Land Rover, but his son will ride a camel" -Sheik Rashid in 1966
The duch disease theory was a really very usefull explaination that has changed my outlook on so many things
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.
Yes I heard that actually
@@jillybe1873 yours has to be the most Australian name i have seen. Am i correct?
Perhaps syphoning of money, to bribe cronies?
It’s likely used by the WEF as a test bed for advanced technologies some of which are of sinister intent. Think China surveillance then condense it to a super compact smart-city scape.
On another end you could say NEOM is testing out tech and development styles for Mars/Moon colonization. Building a modular and linear city in a canyon or crevasse.
There’s also Bezos’s Space Colony stations that’ll likely implement the same builds.
Yeah, a line city
They are trying to contain our 2D land into single dimension. How genius🥴
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.
Lots of Respect
lol, brotherly feelings, not sure what lead you to have such feelings for these cesspool coutries and peoples.
I also apprecite the mentioning of the slave labour, but I don't undestand why you still have brotherly feelings for these countries.
How does word NOT get around faster in the countries they pull their labor from? Shouldn't people start hearing of family members or neighbors leaving to work and never coming back? I suppose it's like how MLM scams continue to find victims despite how well known they are.
@@sor3999 Yes, many of them never return or it takes a few years before they go to visit, not as you think they were taken as slaves, but because they enjoyed the money and the good order of life
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.
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.
For exactly the reasons explained in the video I always fly to Europe from Australia via Singapore avoiding one of those countries.
I fly to NY via Japan.
Bravo. your meaningless gesture will save the future of humanity..........
@@arc8696 thanks for letting me know mate
Making ur life harder because you are so easily tricked by western media lies 😂😂
@@sharym7What happened to the Sri Lanka guy in Pakistan?
Getting🇮🇳 map wrong is upsetting but not angering, u r very welcome to India always! ❤️
There are direct flights from Europe to India without layover in Gulf. I traveled likewise.
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
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
Russian Airlines AEROFLOT
What's the problem with stopping over in a gulf country?
@@MM-sn5xd hate and envy. They don't want to benefit these countries. The same hate we heard towards Qatar during the world cup. Mainly based on lies
The agenda is hilarious, you are so envious of the gulf
@@MM-sn5xd after a somewhat critical/realistic video, I'm sure the creator doesn't want to land there anymore for a while!
This is one of the most simplistic analyses I have ever seen.
Excellent video as usual
Please we urgently need a video about the UK's economic prospects.
I think that would require us to actually know what the UK government is planning to do haha
💩-show
the uk has the highest quality of life of any developing nation
their what , now ?
@@rhyshoward5094 I doubt even the UK government knows what the UK government wants to do.
A video applying the economics explained ranking to Germany would be nice too. Good video !
Aside of oil the UAE is heavily supported on construction but when a big project is finished a new one has to emerge because the economy will suffer. that's why all building are almost empty and real state can't stop falling in price, they cannot build forever, the acumulated debt is huge
Thank you for the lecture
A video about the rising value of the dollar and its impacts would be extremely interesting
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.
Thanks Murdoch
Capitalism gonna capitalism.
have yo ever asked Norwegians have they ever seen the money from the fund or can they at all get the money when needed? It’s gvm fond, not the people’s
Even worse being British. Look how we used our oil wealth at the same time
Greetings from Argentina...we used to be one of the top 10 economies in the world...now we will probably have 100% inflation this year...at least Australia has proper education!
“Smooth brain dictator wants a shiny toy”. I’m dead 😂😂😂💀💀💀
can you imagine how easily they could be devastated in a war?
From the beginning : "Ahh yes, tourism will sustain the upkeep on these monuments to man's hubris built in the desert once the oil runs out😅"
except like he literally explains in the video it was a part of a offert to bring in businesses into the country. Which it work along withh legal reforms made these countries have a more diverse economy. Dubia itself is oil-independent.
"once the oil runs out"
Jesus Christ, the ignorance of reality in this comment section is astounding. It will be hundreds of years before oil runs out and until then, the oil price will increase as the supply dwindles. This means these Kings and their heirs will get RICHER over time.
@Whe Wjej Wrong. They're not diversifying because they anticipate oil running out soon.
They're diversifying their revenue streams in case of market shocks. Venezuela suffered a crisis since 2014 because their gov relied on oil export for revenue and the oil price dropped; causing runaway inflation, followed by price control mandates that emptied shelves.
@@civilengineer3349 The arrogance, smugness, and condescension from this comment.
they should build some good public transit and sewage system first.
Top tier comment
Just any sewage system would be a great start thh.
they do have a sewage system
They do? Why do they truck the human waste from the burj khalifa?
How would that benefit the rich (the people making these choices its all self interest)
Very insightful. Learned a lot from this video
Amazing videos!
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.
I live in Seoul, I think there is one of most polluted cities of the World!
Now this is the quality that first brought me to your channel! Awesome video!
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 !😂
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
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 just a list and very subjective. I think Australia is better due to the weather.
YOu are also on the top of another list related to Acapulco Kids, hahaha
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
SA is already doing that and also why they're partnering w/Israel
I think the problem for them with renewables is that their geography plays against them here. Electricity transmission costs scale up with distance much more than shipping oil by tanker. Cable maintenance costs (and transit costs through third countries) increases drastically with distance, as do physical losses of output in the cable itself. The Gulf States are much further from both EU and Southeast Asian markets than alternative suppliers such as Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia for the EU, and Spain is within the EU and itself is a good centre for renewables, as is southern Italy (which is also an under-developed region the EU is keen to see gain new economic drivers).
For Southeast Asia, Australia is much closer as is far more politically stable, and is also very keen to develop her northern regions, which are geographically closest to Southeast Asia but are very undeveloped.
Solar panels can function in desert environments, but several challenges can reduce effectiveness. These challenges include high temperatures, dust and sand buildup, strong winds, and a lack of water for cooling and cleaning.
However, with proper design and maintenance, solar panels can still be a viable source of electricity in desert regions. To achieve optimal results, it's essential to consider the type of solar panel used, its location and angle, and consistent cleaning and maintenance. These steps allow solar panels to be utilized in deserts efficiently and sustainably.
I learned so much from this video!
You´re not alone.
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.
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.
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
Whaatt
@@filbao8113 yeah slavery is still a thing in the middle east
Yes it very common to see this in GCC. They have now implemented labour reforms but how much it improved?
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!
It's a great idea to study massive projects that will never finish.
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.
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…
If the whole purpose of the line is to essentially squeeze buildings into one multi-layered city, then why not just make it a coil?
If they want to keep it straight, then opt for a square coil or a rectangular coil
with shortcuts along the radius
@@withoutmotive3796 exactly, it’s still a quirky vanity project but with more functionality and doesn’t divide a substantial portion of their country in half
Thank you 🙏
I disagree with Adam Something in a lot of things, but his "smooth-brain dictators + public policy = immediate chaos" quote is probably the best political analysis I've seen online
would like to see it in a movie one day
As a Venezuelan, that's painfully true
I live in Oman. In winter it is 25-28C. Its not that hot and it's for six months of the year. Same in Dubai. The hot months are May and June when we get 44-48C. The rest of the year it's no hotter than Spain or Turkey for example. The key issue is not temperature - it's awareness and perceptions of Arab countries and their culture.
Right, but the summer is the major tourist season globally, as that’s when most people have large amounts of time off. Not undermining what you say here, but it is something to think about
@@courier6960 in Saudi Taif, Abha, Al-Bahah & Khamis many other cities doesn't even pass 25C in the summer! look up Abha Weather it almost daily have rain in the summer. and always cloudy extremely beautiful weather!
@@_A-qg5vf
That’s pretty interesting although my main concern with the data is how is the average being recorded (because obviously it gets very cold in desert like regions at night, and that could drag the average down).
It’s also important to note whether these regions have any major “tourist attractions” or distinguishing features that separate them a lot more from similar cities and would draw people to the area.
Most of Oman isn't in the Gulf, it's on the Arabian Sea. I live in Bahrain, and it's over 30°C for the majority of the year, _including night time_ , with high humidity most of the time. "Summer" is basically April-October. Outdoor leisure activities are virtually pointless from May-August. It's roughly the same in UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait. I have worked in southern Spain for months at a time on two occasions, and it is far worse weather in the Gulf.
@@jsquared1013 It's the PERSIAN Gulf of course! Has been for over 3,000 years.