Minister of Economy honours DERA winners

High profile government officials and leading entrepreneurs attended the ceremony.

Presenting the keynote address, Khalid Al Kassim, Deputy Director General for Planning and Development, DED, said: "The path-breaking efforts of the DERA winners in compiling useful researches will further support the economic development of Dubai and the UAE. Some of these researches will have practical relevance and others will be used as theoretical backdrops for identifying and strengthening new development initiatives".

"The Department of Economic Development launched DERA in association with its supporting partners to establish a research-enabled database for Dubai. Encouraging research in various sectors of the economy is, indeed, the key to sustained growth and development. DERA also works to enhance the relations between the government, academic and business sectors," added Al Kassim.

Al Kassim also confirmed the DED's commitment to developing a strong economic scientific database for the emirate, and introducing initiatives and projects to increase the efficiency and development of varies economic sectors. "DED works to spread the message of quality and service excellence to further leverage Dubai's competitiveness advantage. The DED supervises economic researches in Dubai and prepares economic and sector-specific studies to lend momentum to the emirate's growth," he added.

The awards were presented in three categories including Professionals, Faculty Members and Students. The top prize of Dhs100,000 in the Professionals category was awarded to Abdulaziz Istaitieh from the Executive Council for his research entitled "What would FTA with Japan bring to the UAE?" Yahya Ahmed Al Sharji from the Ruler's Court, Dubai, won the second prize of Dhs80,000 for his paper "The role of small and medium-sized enterprise owner/manager in adopting information and communication technology in the UAE", while the third prize of Dhs60,000 was won by Irfan Al Hassani from Dubai Economic Council for his paper "Public-Private Partnership Policies and Their Applicability to Dubai".

Candidates in the Faculty Members category were awarded three prizes of Dhs100,000, Dhs80,000 and Dhs60,000. Dr. Dwayne A. Banks from the American University of Dubai won the first prize for his research "Enterprise Zones, Government Subsidies, and Hospital Entry: The Case of the Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC)", while Dr. Masood Abdulla Badri from the UAE University won the second prize for his research "Developing and Testing the UAE Model of Community Support for Tourism". Dr. Nico Vellinga from Zayed University won the third award for his research "Free Trade and Taxation: A Multi-Sector Dynamic CGE Model for the United Arab Emirates".

Candidates in the Students category were awarded three prizes of Dhs30,000, Dhs20,000 and Dhs15,000. Fatima Ahmed and Balqees Ahmed from Zayed University won the first prize for their paper "To peg or not to peg: should the UAE Dirham be fixed to the US Dollar or not?, while Asma Yousuf, Eman Walid and Hanan Mansoor from Zayed University won the second prize for their paper "The reporting of financial data in the United Arab Emirates". Hessa Hassan, Huda Al Saadi, and Maryam Al Falasi from Zayed University won the third prize for their paper "An assessment of herd behaviour in the UAE equity markets".

"We express our gratitude to all the participants whose works have added value to applied economic research. We believe that the Award will enrich both the public and private sectors and provide recommendations that further support the ambitious strategic plan unveiled by our visionary rulers," said Al Kassim.

DERA was initiated by the DED in December, 2004, to promote scientific research within the UAE. The award is offered for original research related to economic development in the UAE. All researchers and students resident in the UAE at the time of submission, including nationals and expatriates, are eligible for the award.