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The monetary policy is an important driver of the real estate sector’s performance. The recent wave of monetary tightening in 2022 in response to the cost-of-living crisis has been associated with the decline in housing prices across the globe. There are two main channels through which the US monetary policy may affect the real estate market in the dollar-pegged countries: the cost of serving mortgages (financing cost) and the exchange rate channel (for example, the appreciation of the US dollar and consequently the local currency). The exchange rate channel, which involves the appreciation of the US dollar and the subsequent effect on the local currency, is particularly significant in the case of Dubai, given how international the housing market in Dubai and might be viewed as a tradable good. Using recent data, the purpose of this study to evaluate the spillover impact of the US monetary policy on the housing market performance in the dollar-pegged countries using Dubai as a case study.

For this purpose, this study collected unique longitudinal data on the volume of the monthly transactions of residential properties and performs a panel-data analysis using within-variation models. The changes in the interest rate policy in the USA are determined by the domestic inflation in the USA, thereby, representing an exogenous shock in the UAE.

The results are robust to different specifications and suggest that a strong negative correlation between the interest rate in the USA and the housing sector demand in Dubai. Fiscal policy measures can be taken to mitigate tighter financial conditions in case of policy misalignment.

Few studies have looked at the spillover impact of the global monetary conditions on the real estate market in the GCC region. This study fills this gap by exploring the impact of the US financial conditions on Dubai’s real estate, using panel data analysis.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges faced by the hospitality industries in developing an Islamic hospitality identity and indigenous styles of management, particularly in the context of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – especially Dubai. It also aims to identify and comprehend the socio‐cultural implications of Islamic hospitality in terms of products and marketing.

This conceptual‐based paper critically reviews and amalgamates a diverse range of literature concerning Islamic hospitality (and tourism), Arab management and leadership qualities, human capital and nationalization of employment, industry skills and educational directives in hospitality and destination and product strategies.

The work critically accounts for the changing nature of skills needed by localised hospitality managers and the industry in general, especially to keep pace with dynamic customer demands and an increasingly sophisticated market and consumer. The outcome of the paper concerns the operationalisation of soft skills and managerial expertise attuned to ethnic and religious attributes of the host society. The evaluations propose ways in which the education sector can extend the career development and progression pathways for UAE nationals. The work also indicates how product development, innovation, transformation and marketing have a crucial role to play in advancing an Islamic and cultural approach to hospitality.

This paper uniquely concerns an under‐developed area of academic study: the role Islamic‐based principles and practices of hospitality and ways in which they can be developed through an indigenous‐led workforce, and Islamic and Arab styles of management, leadership and service sector operation.

While the trade sector has long been the backbone of growth followed by real estate development in Dubai, the impact of reduced oil revenues in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has affected Dubai. GCC countries have identified innovation and transitioning to a knowledge-based economy as critical components of sustainable growth in the post-oil world. The purpose of this chapter is twofold: (1) to examine UAE’s competitiveness relative to four economies for which we can draw meaningful conclusions (Qatar, Singapore, Norway, and Switzerland) and (2) to integrate macro- and micro-level findings in an actionable framework. Using the composite Knowledge Economy Index (KEI) developed by the World Bank (2008, 2012), we conclude that UAE should prioritize three key areas to ­transition to a knowledge-based economy: the regulatory regime, innovation, and human capital. These findings are consistent with a recent study by the UAE Department of Economic Development/INSEAD, which highlights two areas that need addressing: “Creation” (knowledge creation) and “Anchoring” (institutional environment for innovation). We integrate these macro-level findings with research at the innovation ecosystem level (and particularly survey-based research completed by Wamda Research Lab) to propose a comprehensive action framework across all ecosystem stakeholders (i.e., government, entrepreneurs, academia, support ecosystem, and corporates). The action matrix allows individual stakeholders to drive corresponding actions and prioritize across short- and long-term initiatives.

Higher education leadership and planning.

Postgraduate/higher education.

Professor Rob Whelan was appointed President of the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) from the University of Wollongong in Australia (UOW). Professor Whelan brought to the job in Dubai the perspective that public-good benefits flow from a comprehensive institution engaged with the larger community and these are led by academic staff members who produce research that serves the national interest. To apply this model to UOWD meant a thorough analysis of the organization in terms of both its culture and its broader environment. This case explores the various processes through which a new leader takes stock of an existing institution, identifies the potential for development in a particular direction, draws upon a range of stakeholders to refine the vision and develop it into a strategic plan, gains support for the plan, and then implements change through close collaboration with the institution's constituents.

This case can be used to explore a number of issues in leadership and management including: identifying the various internal and external stakeholders in a complex organization; analysing strategies for mobilization for change, including the assessment of inclusive versus exclusive approaches; reviewing the opportunity costs of change; and assessing types of leadership.

Teaching notes.

This study aims to investigate the reverse effect of the country of origin’s reputation on the notion of place brand.

Using a case study methodology, cases of Lagos (Nigeria) and Dubai (UAE) are examined to generate a model of place brand/branding.

Three pathways of the flow of causality between nation brand and city brand were emphasised, and problematic themes of interest to focus are recommended as a way forward for aspiring cities to create and improve their global reputation to generate increased footfalls of visitors and investors.

It is possible for cities to create effective brands irrespective of the reputation (strong or weak) of their countries of origin. The implication of the reverse relationship between nation and city brand has the potential to expand the theoretical framework of a place brand.

The study’s uniqueness is in highlighting the different relations between nation branding and city branding that could guide practitioners in actualising a successful city brand project.

This paper seeks to outline the various elements of a public sector excellence awards programme, the Dubai Government Excellence Programme (DGEP), a unit reporting directly to the cabinet of the Dubai Government. It identifies how the programme seeks to overcome latent contradictions.

The approach relied on interviewing within DGEP, document analysis, conversations with public sector managers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and more general observations of the nature of government in the UAE and especially Dubai. The notion of hybrids in governance is used to unpack the various components of the DGEP and their roles in its overall functioning paying particular attention to the monarchical context of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates.

The study found that the monarchical context of public sector management in Dubai acts as a strong influence to counteract the frequently observed inertia of public administration with regards to quality management initiatives. It traces how changing political priorities have been reflected in a changing portfolio of excellence award categories.

The paper describes an unusual case of an integrated excellence management approach to a whole government. It identifies monarchical context as an aid to pursuing a modern management approach, speculating that this might be a special case of a more general condition that might aid innovation in public sector contexts. The paper also suggests the usefulness of the notion of hybrids for the public sector governance literature.

Over the past decades, there has been an intensifying movement to privatize education in Western nations, with equal concern about the quality of education for all. This article adds to a global understanding of school inspections as a governance mechanism to promote educational quality in an entirely open K-12 educational marketplace.

The role of school inspections as a quality assurance device is examined from a market accountability perspective. The Emirate of Dubai is used as an illustrative example of market accountability, where the educational landscape constitutes primarily a private open market.

Dubai proves that market accountability can address the needs of all families, assuring the provision of a sufficient quality standard of education, while allowing for competition to drive improvement. There are two lessons that Dubai offers a global audience that has been debating the merits of privatizing education: a fully free unregulated market does not promote an education system that provides a minimum standard of education for all; and a private education system can address stakeholder concerns and operate successfully in parallel to a public sector.

The idiosyncratic United Arab Emirates (UAE) education sector calls for a balance between flexibility and quality assurance across semi-independent jurisdictions. Hosting a majority of non-Emirati resident families, Dubai has developed a public inspection system for a private education market for quality assurance across 17 curricula offered in 215 private schools with diverse profit models. That most Dubai school-aged children are in private schools demanded accommodating an atypical landscape for K-12 education that affords insights into how a free market can operate. The authors encourage future research that may build a more comprehensive framework for better understanding the public–private education debate.

This paper aims to provide an overview of how a Dubai-based higher education institution in hospitality management has leveraged the enabling macro-environment for building innovation-centric courses in hospitality pedagogy. The policy-level initiatives focusing on innovation adopted by the UAE, and Dubai, in particular, are analyzed along with their impact on the higher education landscape.

An exploratory research design with an experimental component based on iterative approach has been adopted in this paper.

The synthesis of the exploratory analysis with the outcome of the experiment for developing innovation-centric courses and assessments which integrates elements of sustainability underscores the necessity for a scalable roadmap for developing an innovation-driven ecosystem. Implications for stakeholders in deploying the proposed roadmap are discussed.

The experience curated from the design development and delivery of innovation-focused courses with the mandated framework in a specific geography (in this case Dubai, UAE) attests to the originality. The research adds value by proposing an implementable roadmap for stakeholders to foster an innovation-driven socio-economic ecosystem that encompasses elements of sustainability.

This purpose of this paper is to examine the organization of the UAE educational system, its components, their goals, and finally their effectiveness.

Three elements of the UAE education system were examined: the development; delivery; and evaluation and feedback.

On analysis, it was found that there is poor alignment among what the system was developed for, how it was delivered, and what was evaluated. In order to align this system significant efforts are needed to ensure that extensive documentation in terms of teachers' guides, training sessions for teachers and supervisors, and relevant evaluation instruments must be designed with systems thinking as the guide.

An orientation to goals rather than textbooks, to systems thinking, and to the vision developed for the system (and perhaps some form of strategic feedback to the respective committees established in the structural framework delineated by the ministry) might be worth consideration to erase the misalignment indicated by this research.

This paper will be of interest to those involved in education and in particular, those involved in the education system within the UAE.