The Impact of leadership and Oil in the Economic Transformation of the United Arab Emirate: Historical Perspectives

Abstract

The economic development and transformation of any country is highly dependent on good leadership and proper utilization of the available resource. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has not gone through long stages that most developed countries of the world seem to have experienced in the achievement of economic transformation. UAE’s phenomenal economic transformation was attributed to the inspiring leadership and a leader who plays a key role in the economic growth and transformation of the United Arab Emirate. The leader through proper utilization of massive Oil revenue enabled the UAE to short-cut the usually most long and difficult process of saving and capital accumulation necessary for economic development, the country at present belongs to the high income countries in the world and is the second largest Arab economy after Saudi Arabia. How then the UAE achieved this economic status from a weak economy to a more strong economy is the focus of this paper.