Economies are complex. It's simplistic to think of Dubai as simply smoke & mirrors. I would have said Singapore or Hong Kong. IE, Dubai is (was) a comfortable

Economies are complex. It's simplistic to think of Dubai as simply smoke & mirrors. I would have said Singapore or Hong Kong. IE, Dubai is (was) a comfortable outpost for the (extremely profitable in good years) companies doing business in the region. If you need a base from which to conduct your dealings with Saudi or Iran, Riyadh or Tehran aren't as attractive as Dubai. Beijing wasn't either 25 years ago. Then you have the second level of the economy. The financial services & the like servicing the companies that chase their customers out there. Then you have a large number of cashed up expats with less family, more income & fewer vestige expenses. You have the industries catering to them (real estate, entertainment). Then you have the industries that are comfortable extensions of this local luxury entertainment market. Tourists, tax refuge, criminals (eg money laundering). There is n doubt that this was an obvious bubble. Especially in real estate. But directly selling commodities is not the only way to make a buck. That's compounded by the fact that no-one is sentimental about Dubai. If luxury apartment population starts to drop, that's it.