Challenges Facing Dubai - Research Paper Summary

Dubai recorded a high growth which resulted from the huge construction work which was taking place at the time. The city also grew as a consequence of the booming investments in the financial sector which was gaining much ground in the global market. The tourism industry became a vital sector in the growth of Dubai as it attracted tourists from all over the world who wanted to have a feel of Dubai's magnificence. Rapid economic growth was also witnessed as a result of the vast oil reserves which Dubai had. With the vast oil reserves, Dubai provided many investment opportunities in the various investment sectors that were thriving well as a result of the huge surplus capital obtained from their oil products. As a matter of fact, Dubai recorded among the highest GDPs in the world because they were richly endowed with oil.

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However, behind the glitzy skyscrapers, several pressing issues have the potential of derailing the growth of Dubai. For instance, there is a concern about the environmental impacts that the growth of the city has brought. A huge city like Dubai has a huge demand for water, and because the city is located in a desert, the Dubai authorities have turned to desalinating sea water. The process of desalinating sea water has increased salinity levels of the sea water and in effect affecting marine animals. The region also lacks a proper sewage treatment system. The huge population has led to an increase in wastes materials which have consequently put a strain on the capacity of the existing sewage plant.

The growth of Dubai has reduced because of the high dependency on low-skilled workforce offering cheap labor. Other cities have sought to establish their urban setup on a knowledge-based platform. This has however been derailed in Dubai because the region attempted to make use of cheap but low-skilled workforce from other parts of the world. For a long time, the Dubai has had a social contract with its people to offered high paying government jobs regardless of merits. This social contract has played a key role in derailing the region's ambition to establish itself as a knowledge-based economy. It has also been documented that the Dubai authorities engaged in a direct exchange of oil for labor since they had huge reserves of oil. However, this trend is changing because of the reducing oil reserves which have then called for a knowledge-based economy.

The huge population in Dubai has not only served as an economic potential, but it has also become root for some socio-economic problems in the region. There is the issue of social inequality which is rampant because of the enormous economic gap existing between the elite population and the groups of people who mostly work in the construction industry and as domestic workers. Studies have revealed that there is a grave violation of human rights. The primary cause of that trend is the huge gap that exists between the migrants who work as laborers and the wealthy Emiratis who as a show of their wealth and superiority, have exploited the migrants.

Dubai is also dealing with the impact that was left by the Global financial crisis of 2008. The financial recession dealt a huge blow to the growth of Dubai which at that time was blossoming because of the huge investments which were being channeled to the region. However, when the economic recession occurred, Dubai's growth was derailed because as it turned out, the risk involved at the time was so high and that reduced investors' confidence. The economic recession also led to a mass return of labor back to their home countries. In essence, that denied Dubai of the cheap labor that they depended on for so long.