Purpose: This paper critically analyses major shifts in the UAE's public and economic policy, particularly examining the transition from oil dependency to diversification and then to sustainability and resilience. It aims to provide insight into the facilitators, inhibitors and future of sustainable development in the UAE.Design/methodology/approach: The paper reviews evidence on diversification resistance, the resource trap and sustainable development, and draws attention to the dynamics of policy reform in the UAE, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.Findings: The findings of this study indicate that not all patterns of diversification result in sustainable development and resilient economies. The evidence also suggests that achieving sustainable and resilient growth does not necessarily come at the cost of economic prosperity. After decades of extraordinary diversification, the UAE's economic policy has undergone a paradigm shift. Years of fluctuating oil revenues, increasingly globalised markets, environmental obligations and significant recent structural changes in energy markets have paved the way for a new emphasis on sustainable diversification and economic resilience.Originality/value: The paper provides novel insight on the UAE's transition to a sustainable and resilient economy and contributes to the current public policy debate about the future of economic policies in the UAE on sustainable diversification initiatives and the trade-offs that emerge from embracing sustainable diversification and economic resilience goals.

This article investigates the possible determinants of being overweight and obese in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), controlling for age and education status. We use a novel dataset constructed from survey responses of university undergraduate students. Using OLS, logistic and ordered logistic regressions, we find that male, affluent and nonnational students face a higher risk of being obese (or overweight). The results also show that cultural and geographical factors interact with some behavioural aspects related to lifestyle in determining weight status. Students originating from other Middle East and North Africa countries exhibit higher body mass index (BMI) and odds of being obese with higher frequency of eating out and more computer use. Unexpectedly, fast food consumption and lack of exercise do not seem to contribute to higher risks of being overweight/obese.