Legatum Institute, Dubai School of Government discuss how Middle East measures in promoting prosperity

The recently published 2008 Legatum Prosperity Index finds that Middle East nations enjoy varying degrees of success in promoting the fundamentals of prosperity, with the UAE and Kuwait leading the region. Jordan and Saudi Arabia are also in the top 50, although Yemen ranks at the very bottom of the 2008 Legatum Prosperity Index.

The panel was led by Dr. William Inboden, Senior Vice-President of the Legatum Institute who most recently served as Senior Director for Strategic Planning on the National Security Council at the White House. He was joined by Dr. Tarek Coury, Assistant Professor at the Dubai School of Government, and Dr. Khalid Al-Yahya, Assistant Professor at the Dubai School of Government.

Dr. Inboden, in his presentation, commented that "The Prosperity Index shows that in addition to economic success, a society's prosperity is based on strong families and communities, political and religious liberty, education and opportunity, and a healthy environment."

He elaborated on the Prosperity Index findings for the region, commenting that "Most Middle Eastern countries score very high on satisfaction with health, on family life, and on religious faith, although almost all countries in the region score poorly on political liberties and religious freedom."

Positively, some of the richer Middle Eastern countries report high levels of charitable giving, which is a robust indicator of life satisfaction. The UAE, the highest-ranked Arab country, has an extraordinarily high net migration score, as a global workforce flocks to the employment opportunities created by Dubai and its fellow emirates.

Dr. Tarik Yousef, Dean of the Dubai School of Government, noted that "For many years, the human capacity of the region was hindered by a 'brain drain' phenomenon. One of the more promising developments of recent years, however, has been the reversal of this trend, whereby the 'best and brightest' of the region are remaining here; indeed, the region is attracting some of the top talent from throughout the world. Effective public policy and administration is an important component of this environment, and we at the School are proud to play a role in this regard."

The panel continued by recommending the further enhancement of prosperity through the reduction of dependence upon commodity exports such as oil and gas, as well as through the expansion of political rights and civil liberties. The lowering of political tensions in the region may also lead to a beneficial increase in trade agreements.

The Prosperity Index assesses 104 nations around the world by measuring 44 different indicators of both economic competitiveness and liveability. The top ten countries in the Index represent multiple regions including five European countries (Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Switzerland), four from the Asia Pacific region (Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand) and one from North America (United States).