UAE: Abu Dhabi Economy

Although inflation had been a growing issue prior to the 2008-09 global economic crisis, these concerns have since been receding. In December 2008, the inflation rate hit an all-time high of 12.3% – a level high enough to present a significant challenge for the Central Bank of the UAE (CBU). Finding its ability to respond to the trend through...

The strong fiscal position of the UAE has meant that it has never been compelled to turn to the debt markets to balance its budgets, and comments in recent years by the federal government suggest that this is not likely to change in the short term. While the government has moved to formulate legislation that would allow for public debt issuances...

As the largest and most populous of the seven emirates that make up the UAE, Abu Dhabi plays a central role in the federation’s economy. Furthermore, due to being the home of the national capital, Abu Dhabi hosts many of the institutions that orchestrate the UAE’s social and economic development, while the hydrocarbons resources which fall...

Boosting economic integration among the Gulf states has been a central objective of the GCC since the organisation was established in late May 1981. Indeed, while the six countries that make up the GCC – namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – have implemented joint projects in a wide variety of sectors, economic...

The government’s significant role in the domestic economy, and the sizeable fiscal spending that underwrites much of the UAE’s infrastructural development, sometimes obscures another important facet of the nation’s economic development. The role played by charitable organisations in the UAE is a prominent one, and a wide array of institutions...