DOHA, Qatar — So, our political class is at it again — trying its best to destroy an already lackluster economic recovery.
I am not a fan of cursing, but I am with Warren Buffett (always a safe bet) on this one, when he reportedly describes a potential government shutdown as “pretty damn dumb.”
I will have plenty more to write about this if it actually happens. Hopefully, it won’t.
Turning to a more pleasant thought, ask yourself: What if, instead of undermining an economy, you would be tasked to build one from scratch?
That is currently being attempted in the country of Qatar. Of course, to address this issue right from the start, the political system in Qatar couldn’t be more different from our democratic one.
Nevertheless, it is still fascinating to be here in Doha and see firsthand how energetically the Qataris — with the help of tens of thousands of expatriates — pursue their vision of a knowledge economy.
The Qatar National Vision 2030 (available at http://goo.gl/Unehb) recognizes that the future prosperity of this oil-rich country will have to be secured in other ways than just exploiting natural resources.
It strongly emphasizes a reduction of the “dependence on hydrocarbon industries” and envisions the creation of a “knowledge-based economy characterized by innovation; entrepreneurship; excellence in education; (and) a world-class infrastructural backbone.”
Based on this vision, the Qatar National Research Strategy (launched in 2012, available at http://goo.gl/1R1hUz) calls for the country to make the investments necessary to become “a leading center for research and development excellence and innovation.”
The signs of these efforts are visible all around, especially when one visits education city, a brainchild of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (http://www.qf.org.qa/). This high-tech campus built to attract international research institutions and universities is an impressive testament to the scale of Qatar’s ambition to be a world-class player in the future global knowledge economy.
The 2012 Science and Engineering Indicators (http://goo.gl/z3W4SE) published by the National Science Foundation listed Qatar as one of the major locations for “Transnational Higher Education,” referring to international branch campuses of (mostly) English-speaking countries.
With Dubai being the leader, the report states, “China hosts 15 branch campuses, followed by Singapore and Qatar.”
Given the highly traditional societal structure in Qatar, it is also noteworthy that the mission of the Qatar Foundation includes “supporting an innovative and open society that aspires to develop sustainable human capacity, social and economic prosperity for a knowledge-based economy.”
The current mix of private freedom and (sometimes overbearing) centralized planning and government regulation that is propelling those initiatives seems to be the right competitive blend at this point in time.
According to the 2013-14 Global Competitiveness Report (http://goo.gl/ZbnCHs), released by the World Economic Forum, Qatar ranks 13th out of 148 economies, which makes it the leader in the Middle East (the United States is ranked fifth). Moreover, the report identifies the Qatari economy as innovation-driven, which is the top-stage of development in the report.
Of course, nobody can guarantee that this experiment in jumping from an economy dependent on natural resources to one built on knowledge-intensive services will succeed. However, it is inspiring to see so many people be so dynamically involved and invested in the process.
Something cheerful to remember the next time I contemplate writing about government shutdown threats and debt-ceiling battles.
Dr. Michael Reksulak has taught economics and public finance in Georgia Southern University’s College of Business Administration. He can be contacted at MReksulak.SMN@gmail.com.