Today, wealth is considered an important metric for quality of life. Many policy makers would argue that some level of wealth is needed in order to achieve higher levels of security and wellbeing. This paper will evaluate quality of life, using the human development index (HDI) as a proxy, in two countries. Contained in this paper are three experiments which focus on every dimension of HDI: health, education and income. Collectively, the experiments attempt to answer two fundamental questions regarding quality of life. Firstly, they will evaluate the extent to which Qatar’s oil revenue has contributed to changes in economic wellbeing, compared to the UK. Secondly, this paper will decipher the appropriate dimensions of economic wellbeing that Qatar should prioritise, to converge with the United Kingdom, in terms of HDI.
The results indicated that Qatar’s growth in quality of life has been, almost entirely, driven by revenue from oil. It was also evident that although Qatar’s economy has an abundance of wealth, public goods such as education and healthcare have not been well invested in. Improvements to quality of life were evident the most in terms of education and the paper recommended pursuing investment in education prior to investment in healthcare. This would have the long-term benefit of ensuring the diversification of Qatar’s economy.
Quality of life is paramount to all nations and is the most fundamental asset to an economy. This research makes an invaluable contribution to the study development in oil rich nations. It reveals the dangers of not ensuring a diversified economy and analyses the potential future implications.
PLEASE NOTE: You must be a member of the University of Lincoln to be able to view this dissertation. Please log in here.