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Understanding Economic and Civic Culture in the UAE

Understanding Economic and Civic Culture in the UAE. Calvert W. Jones Ph.D. Candidate, Yale University Visiting Scholar, Sheikh Saud bin Saqr al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research. Background: Dissertation Research. How are Gulf state leaders seeking to adapt traditional social contracts?

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Understanding Economic and Civic Culture in the UAE

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  1. Understanding Economic and Civic Culture in the UAE Calvert W. Jones Ph.D. Candidate, Yale University Visiting Scholar, Sheikh Saud bin Saqr al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research

  2. Background: Dissertation Research • How are Gulf state leaders seeking to adapt traditional social contracts? • How are young people’s beliefs and attitudes evolving as a result? • Current focus on UAE and education reform

  3. Why are attitudes important? • Young people’s beliefs and attitudes affect whether and how much they will contribute to the development of their country • Development as “self-discovery” (Hausmann & Rodrik, 2003)

  4. Adapting the Social Contract

  5. The View from the Top:The Desired Citizen “We want Emiratis to take charge of their path through life with the confidence to map out a productive andfulfilling future for themselves and their nation.In their professional lives they will prove that the route to success lies through personal commitment, dedication and a strong work ethic. Satisfaction and motivation will reward their self-reliance and initiative; their appetite for risk-taking will be fuelled by a vigorous entrepreneurial spirit” (Vision 2021, p. 4)

  6. Pilot Study: Ras al Khaimah • Purpose • Assess validity of survey instruments • Explore differences between Emiratis and non-Emiratis • 5 secondary schools, 62 students • Surveyed about economic, social, and political attitudes

  7. The belief that there are returns to work (p=.04) Hard work doesn’t generally bring success—it’s more a matter of luck and connections In the long run, hard work usually brings success 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Emirati average (3.09) Non-Emirati average (2.15)

  8. In general, are you willing or unwilling to take risks if there is a good chance of reward? (p=.002) I’m willing to take risks. I’m not willing to take risks. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Emirati average (3.06) Non-Emirati average (1.96)

  9. How much, out of 100,000 AED, would you be willing to invest in a friend’s new company? (p=.03) •  All of it •  95,000 •  90,000 •  85,000 •  80,000 •  75,000 •  70,000 •  65,000 •  60,000 •  55,000 •  50,000 •  45,000 •  40,000 •  35,000 •  30,000 •  25,000 •  20,000 •  15,000 •  10,000 •  5,000 •  None of it Non-Emirati average:45,000 AED Emirati average:33,000 AED

  10. Attitudes toward entrepreneurs (p=.000)

  11. Attitudes toward science and technology: Item 1 (p=.03)

  12. Attitudes toward science and technology: Item 2 (p=.000)

  13. Job Priorities 3 1 1 3 2 2

  14. Values that ought to be encouraged in children 3 2 1 3 1 3 2

  15. In Sum • Emirati respondents were less certain that there are returns to work, and less inclined to take risks. • But they were more positive toward the role played by science and technology in society. • And they believed more strongly that entrepreneurs ought to be admired by others. • Job priorities and values are very different.

  16. Conclusions and Implications • Findings are preliminary • Further research is needed on reasons for differences • And on how different educational initiatives affect attitudes (causally) in these areas • Findings should help design more targeted policy responses, tailored to the needs of different populations of young people

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