The unbridled expansion spree coupled with imperial complacency, led to Dubai's woes. But, thanks to its big brother's benevolence, the crisis was averted.

"Less is only more when more is no good," said the famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. This aptly fits for the flush and opulent Gulf city-state of Dubai which recently caught into a debt crisis and was subsequently rescued by its cash-rich big-brother, Abu Dhabi. Over the years, Dubai has become synonymous with brashness—an overextension of capitalism in a region of orthodoxy and cultural taboos—inviting frenetic investments and luring the ultra-rich with its tax benefits and material comfort. The indoor ski slope in the midst of desert; the grandiose hotel with glass walls looking onto a sea aquarium; the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa; the world's most expensive luxury hotels, residences, shopping malls and office complexes, epitomize Dubai's ostentatious profligacy. And, for this arrogant display of vanity and wealth, the not-so-oil-rich yet complacent Dubai had to take huge debts which it ultimately announced it would not be able to repay in time. This had definitely come as a great shock to the investors and tarnished Dubai's image badly. However, on December 14, last year, Abu Dhabi, the wealthiest member of the UAE, arrived on the scene at the last moment to rescue its neighbor from the brink of default. Had Dubai been a little more pragmatic and had the financial structure in Dubai been a little more transparent, no doubt, the crisis would not have erupted.

The Analyst Magazine, Dubai Debit Crisis, Financial Structures, Cultural Taboos, Lehman Brothers, Sovereign Debts, Financial Crisis, Gross Domestic Product, GDP, Emerging Markets, Global Economic Crisis, Banking Regulation, Financial Services Sector.