The simple way to understand it imo:

- Oil gave the region wealth
- Monarchy used wealth to maintain ruling legitimacy (by ensuring the small population of nationals are well looked after)
- Monarchy used wealth and legitimacy to make top down smart, long term investments (in a way a founder-led company might)
- Many of these investments are now paying off.

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Yes, though that’s the opposite of the resource curse. To take that initial oil money and do something with it shows real foresight that many other places didn’t manage.

do they export anything other than oil? don’t think so

it doesn’t seem like a classic case of dutch disease because the dutch started with a diversified economy, whereas UAE started with nothing