Qatar: Managing the limits of economic growth

Qatar has experienced a remarkable growth trajectory over the last decade. Surging revenue, from high oil prices and a dramatic expansion in gas production, has generated the world’s highest per capita GDP, funded vast building projects, and enabled an international spending spree by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) that has become a symbol of the country’s global ambitions. But the years of dizzying economic expansion must come to an end. Qatar faces numerous economic challenges: flat or falling revenues, concerns about inflation, rapid population growth and massive construction commitments for the 2022 World Cup must all be carefully negotiated by the new government of Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, who will not want to see the economic boom overseen by his father fade away.