This Tiny Country Built the Laziest Economy in the World

[@EconomicsExplained]

Thank you for watching! Sign up for an account at grammarly.com/economics09. If you want to get access to extra features, get 20% off Grammarly Premium.

[@gianlucrobinson467]

Please do a country video on the Caribbean island Trinidad and Tobago next! I love the style of your content and finding economic information is difficult. I suspect you may be able to provide some great insights there.

[@yankoaleksandrov]

Make video for Bulgaria ❤

[@bossmen6665]

What a shill. Saying taxes are good because people will think they own public property

[@alexnzigamasabo8748]

Hi, in the future do you think you might have a video on Burundi's economy (Statistically the poorest country on planet earth) that would be intresting to see

[@Kingfromnowwhere]

could you do one episode for guinea conakry or west african country

[@hydronpowers9014]

"No taxation without representation" The Sultan: 👌

[@haweater1555]

The District of Columbia, the capital district of USA, has the license plate slogan "Taxation Without Representation" to remind policy makers everyday that DC is not the same legislative status as a state.

[@nishant54]

​@@haweater1555As if representatives obey your orders 😂😂😂 fools. They only obey bribes i.e. sugar-coated lobbying.

[@Omer1996E.C]

"No taxation without representation" is the greatest loophole for taxation

[@nishant54]

​@@haweater1555So, if you want representation, just bribe maryland senator who will happily obey your orders.

[@somethinglikethat2176]

​@@nishant54 maybe they want their own to bribe.

[@SCL111]

I was born and raised in Brunei until the age of 17. Then, I went to Australia for university because my dad thought Brunei's future outcome was poor and too dependent on oil and gas, and the government officials were too passive to try anything new. Development is so slow that I would say nothing ever happened in Brunei. I have gotten my Aussie citizenship years ago. No regret in leaving Brunei.

[@tankman20064]

Aust dollar is dropping lower than brunei.

[@Alozhatos]

While most Malays in Peninsular Malaysia are jealous with Brunei.

[@mcbchannel7173]

⁠@@Alozhatosno need to jealous, their oil will run out soon while indonesian and malaysian will still lived peacefully with their vast diverse economy….

[@darkcloud9053]

​@@mcbchannel7173and when is soon coming?

[@Snowfirez]

Traitor of Brunei!

[@evan]

I was actually flown out to Brunei by the tourism board to film some travel vlogs, and though it was super beautiful... the lack of freedom of speech is really apparent. I had read that the sultan shut down a long running newspaper because it dared to question Saudi Arabia increasing the cost of visiting Mecca. I was taken to lunch and I asked the restaurant owner what his thoughts were on the shutdown of the newspaper and such. He froze up and looked scared asking me to please not ask him that question and that he loves his job. He then turned and left the room. It felt really bizarre. Couple that with the fact that every business has to have a framed portrait of the sultan on the wall for all to see, and you can understand the vibe of the country a bit better. That and Christmas is illegal

[@floydblandston108]

Time for some happy entrepreneur to institute a "Festivus for the restivus" plan.

[@VeteranManiac]

Sounds like a more visceral version of Orwell's 1984.

[@johndawson6057]

Thank god for banning the celebration of violent people

[@phoenyan2087]

@@VeteranManiacNorth Korea moment

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

@@VeteranManiac That'd be North Korea. Brunei mostly isn't oppressive so much as mollified. If you protest you'll get in trouble yes, but most people don't protest. Not mostly out of fear, but simply disinterest - the govt. takes care of everything in Brunei. Unlike in 1984 the people aren't living in squalor. All their needs are met by the govt. So much so that many don't even work.

[@m97x51]

This is an uncomfortable truth about my country. Our government been pushing for diversification but the lack of entrepreneur mindset amongst the my generation as well as the lack of investment opportunities made it super difficult to kick start diversification. I do fear that we are stuck in the middle income trap

[@amirulmustafa854]

I really wished brunei get rid of the "bersyukur" mindset. It's hard to progress on anything if everyone keeps saying to just be grateful, it's especially worse for people who actually needs brunei to progress

[@momon4868]

@@amirulmustafa854 "Bersyukur" mindset is prevalent amongst Malay people, that's why most big conglomerates in Malay countries are Chinese, not Malay. It also happens in my country, Indonesia, though young generations are starting to shift that shitty mindset and more liberal and into entrepreneurship.

[@GregorianMG]

​@@momon4868You still need that mindset to certain degree, but not to the point it limit yourself to grow

[@sovietroll7880]

@@momon4868 Same in Malaysia. Young Malay people here slowly but surely remove that mindset and work harder than before since economy is shifting downward. Times changes people.

[@dianapennepacker6854]

​@@sovietroll7880Why is the economy in Malaysia going down? I don't know much about it. Yet when I do I see it as a beautiful yet poor country. The Malaysian in America are pretty awesome. Sometimes I feel like they are yelling at each other when they are not haha. Actually now that I think about it. All the ones I've met are really laid back and chill people. Some of them are hilarious.

[@jackpimblo8476]

I grew up in Brunei as the child of an expat worker, there was a large number of people like us considering how small the population was. It was a known fact among all of us that Brunei's economy was far too dependant on oil and that one day it was going to run out and crash.

[@PepeCoinMania]

that day is not coming in your lifetime dude

[@CHN-yh3uv]

“Expat” lol you mean immigrant?

[@AwesomeHairo]

Misuse of a comma.

[@258Loures]

​@@CHN-yh3uvexpat are used normally by a very specific kind of immigrants, like a form to say I'm not like the others.

[@meikala2114]

@@CHN-yh3uv expats are professional migrant workers and are not there to clean the toilets,

[@frankcellini9363]

It would be very interesting to see how much tax Australians pay proportional to GDP and in terms of how much we get back for the tax that we pay, say free education, public transport? Also how we rate with other countries. Another interesting aspect would be how many politicians, public servants we have and how much these people cost us, including the resources they use such us the buildings they occupy etc. Great videos!

[@Epidian]

@Juliehart001 SCAM!

[@NazriB]

Lies again? Black Red Lazy Students

[@jakubwijata5457]

As a Norwegian I can confess that Norway is in fact not a great place to live in. High taxes, high household debt levels, lackluster healthcare and unreasonably high university requirements for STEM studies is one of the key points. Norway is also one of the least innovative developed countries in Europe since COVID due to loss of migrant workers from Poland, Lituania etc. It’s an above average country that every economist from outside of Norway loves for some pecuiliar reason.

Just take a walk around literally any other country and you'll see if Norway is not a great place to live in.

[@shauncameron8390]

Namely left-wing economists.

[@Blade7007]

Sounds oddly familiar to our current situation in Canada, except we're probably 10 years ahead of you in the bad way

[@dianapennepacker6854]

I don't know man. Seems to be the grass is greener on the other side deal going here. Only people I've heard complain about Norway are the well off people who would rather not be taxed so high. People who can find a high paying job in America, and still make more out here in the states even though they have to pay for their own medical.

[@PerChristianFrankplads]

Norwegian here. You should probably have mentioned that the official unemployment rate for Norway does not really reflect how many people who are NOT in a full-time job and paying actual taxes. There are many things hiding the fact that not enough people are in the workforce, and more and more people are actually dropping out of it permanently, especially among young people. Also, a lot of the unskilled jobs, probably most of them, are given to migrants from the EU in various professions, such as service and labour et cetera. Norway is not necessarily the success story that you might give the impression of, and the signs are there for the situation to become much worse.

[@i2cybeast]

Could you expand upon this? I’d like to know more

[@nickdc1987]

Worth pointing out that the assets of the Brunei investment fund is actually the personal property of the sultan, it is not the property of the state.

[@LLLLLL_57]

That is why it was mentioned as "confidential", even in Brunei, people don't talk about it, it's taboo for them to talk about the royal wealth

[@aussiewanderer6304]

So the money will only continue to be handed out if the Sultan remains generous. If he abdicates and his son doesn't want to keep subsidising the lifestyle of the people, they've got nowhere to go.

[@ViolentCabbage-ym7ko]

I mean Brunei belongs to the Sultan

[@workcount1381]

Reading the comments, I would like to say that the people are not oblivious to the limited oil reserves. There have been many initiatives on encouraging entreprenuership and diversifying the economy. Also, unlike Nauru, Brunei is not destroying forests to get oil. From the video, oil was 62% of the gdp, so the other 38% is non oil unlike nauru which had 90% of the gdp from phosphates. So nauru past econs is a bad comparison from brunei So its not as doom-ish as people speculate it to be.

[@Ushio01]

Considering Brunei has a population smaller than any US state while being smaller than US state apart from Rhode Island their sovereign wealth fund needs relatively small returns to keep the country running. It's not like they have a rapidly growing population either and instead are close to seeing an aging and shrinking population within 30 years just like all developed nations today.

[@patriarch7237]

The issue is when the oil runs out, what happens to the society (and its wealth fund) when it does? If they are to fix that crisis before it happens, they need to be doing it now; you can't create a functioning economy to replace it overnight.

[@fungo6631]

​@@patriarch7237That's what the sovereign wealth fund is for, innit? A fund that is used for rainy days and to diversify.

[@nassrol]

@@fungo6631the thing is gov revenue is half from its peak. Therefore brunei had been on deficit spending and already utilising their reserves. If current spending pattern continues they will be running out of reserves, and introducing tax will challenge the Sultan absolute power on the state.

[@amirulmustafa854]

​@@patriarch7237our society would be pretty much collapsed. A lot of people here also has the "bersyukur" mindset or in English the "be grateful" mindset so it'll be hard to fix anything when the idea of fixing isn't even a thing

[@godzilla3249]

@@amirulmustafa854 I agree man. It's hard for our country Brunei to rise since most of the people have that besyukur mindset. Sad

[@glader88]

yaaay, a new episode of Norway Explained! Thanks for doing what you do, it's always an interesting watch ❤

[@Infernal_Elf]

we Norwegian really hit the nail on the head in many economical regards tho :D

[@mx62455]

Could you do an episode on Land Value Taxes, and different countries and cities that implemented it?

[@simonhenry7867]

Oh yes please.

[@jascrandom9855]

Also its relation with Georgism and Universal Basic Income.

[@RobertMcCalle]

Ppl from this country which I met always very friendly and nice.

[@Instagaz]

Bruneian here. I’m enjoying your freedom of speech from the comfort of my mansion. Keep it up.

[@rndtya]

I just dont understand that people complained. Lack of freedom does not mean the people are not happy. The opposite, they live happy and peacefully. If they are not use to talk politics why would they care, if their needs is fullfilled why would they questioning their gov. I live in a country full of freedom but hatred, racism, suicide because of stress, cant buy house, etc. are rising

[@darpmosh6601]

They would care because politics is the fabric of the nation. It's how the nation is being run. Maybe you yourself are having a good life, but rust can easily be built up in places most hidden. Such was the reason why Lebanon underwent the financial crisis. As such, you need freedom of speech to talk about these underlying problems or else everyone will suffer the consequences of ignoring problems

[@sweetsweet3753]

smaller countries with a decent sized population get some good benefits on economies of scale for building out infrastructure etc....and easier from a overall planning perspective. main challenge is importing resources (water / power/ food) and defense

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

There are plenty of poor small countries. Lesotho, for example. Which also doesn't spend much on defense as they're surrounded by South Africa. And that's just one example. There's an entire category of countries known as 'micro-states', of which a lot of them are poor.

[@HMM-0]

what about the fact that San Marino has practically the same gdp per capita as Italy or at least a similar one even though San Marino has complete independence and is fully sovereign

Actually it's the opposite, as a small country, you'd need to buy all the machines and hire all the profesionals which equals to a large portion of the costs just to construct a road and then nothing else, then the people become jobless and the next time, you won't even have nationals that want to work there, since the country is so small, so big countries have an advantage, since you buy the machines once, and hire once and you keep constructing everything throughout the country, and then you have to give maintenance, so you don't need to stop or fire anyone.

[@shauncameron8390]

@@ArawnOfAnnwn Equatorial Guinea. Don't let its high GDP per capita fool you as 75% of the population is poor.

[@sweetsweet3753]

@@shauncameron8390 yeah but thats a corruption issue - not a geography size issue...

[@HonoredMule]

That trope about lottery winners is heavily influenced by selection bias. Lottery winners are by definition people financially illiterate enough to be playing the lottery.

[@nonamenoname9468]

Politicians and government are by no means perfectly rational actors either

[@patriarch7237]

As an investment, yes. As a way to dispose of a "fun" amount of money for short term amusement, the lottery is no worse than going to the pub, placing a small bet or the myriad other ways people can blow money. Just with a tiny, tiny chance of winning vast amounts. And most people (not just illiterates who think lotteries are good investments) are not equipped to manage a very sudden, large influx of money.

[@HonoredMule]

@@patriarch7237 You have to be at least a little financially illiterate to even dabble in gambling with _decent_ odds as a brief fantasy. It's way too hard otherwise to psyche up the pleasure of that escapism enough to match the real physiological effect from the alcoholic content of a beer, tactile pleasure of a fidget spinner, or even the aesthetic pleasure of adding some trinket as a paperweight to your desk. That's on top of suppressing what you know about lottery systems exploiting addiction and effectively taxing the poor, and how depressing _that_ is while you simultaneously contribute to it and maybe even spark or feed your own addiction. At least consumerism gets you physical stuff and doesn't _directly_ burn your money. Heck, you could be really committed specifically to the idea of directly translating money into good feelings and do so more effectively by donating to charity or watching a movie. Even if none of that were true, it would hardly put a dent in the selection bias that is in no way reliant on a complete lack of counterexamples. As for this: "And most people (not just illiterates who think lotteries are good investments) are not equipped to manage a very sudden, large influx of money." I'm going to assume you're implying they'd _mismanage_ and lose it rather than figuring it out (or spending it all but wisely on things like paying off mortgages and first-class education for their children), and suggest that such a claim requires unbiased supporting evidence. The whole point of my original post is that this exact narrative is classist* rather than factual and if that weren't the case someone would be showing up with non-bullshit evidence. *It shouldn't be hard to see who would be most motivated to buy into and then actively perpetuate an idea that "you couldn't handle having money anyway" without needing _credible_ proof.

[@nickchua5772]

I always forget that and wonder why lottery winners are so terrible at managing money. Even in my fantasies where I win the lottery and manage it well, I am never the one buying the ticket because I always felt that was out of character.

[@loganmiat]

It's also just a myth caused by sensational journalism. Jeez this channel is lazy.

[@joebloe4374]

Ive been to Brunei Nice little country Peaceful good food not expensive I liked it ❤

[@snackums996]

As a resident of the USA, what are these "job security" and "extensive vacation time" you speak of? Do you have a pamphlet or a website I could visit to find out more?

[@quintessenceSL]

USAJobs. Become like the youth of Brunei.

[@MrIansmitchell]

AFL-CIO has pamphlets!

[@dx-ek4vr]

"Job security" and "extensive vacation time" are communist conspiracies. You're not a communist, are ya?

[@BaconHer0]

I knew a royal from Brunei when I was growing up. Their entire family were some of the laziest people I'd ever meet in my entire life. The spark's gone out from their eyes

[@user-dz4eb5rb3g]

That’s crazy how you even know them

[@BaconHer0]

@@user-dz4eb5rb3g One of my mom's business partners married into their family

[@zam023]

Royals are people too, and there are different types of people, some lazy, some hard working. As you said, you only knew of one and yet you conveniently put the label on the whole family. Btw, you are not the only one who knows them.

[@inuhundchien6041]

Hey, people can be lazy regardless of their economic status. I'm not a royal but I'm pretty sure I'm lazier than whoever you met.

[@myname4399]

@@user-dz4eb5rb3git's normal to see royal family in brunei , current sultan is the 29th sultan and the future 31st sultan who currently is a teenager have join multiple football tournaments so i also have many friends who met him couple times at tournament

[@ARreymago]

Ahh yes, Drew Binsky’s least favorite country

[@thegamingwolf5612]

Why?

[@Omer1996E.C]

@@thegamingwolf5612 some individuals shouted at him and kicked him (I thinks it was) from a mosque, because he entered with his shoes on

[@benchoflemons398]

@@thegamingwolf5612 he got yelled at for no reason at a mosque.

[@amalgeorge6877]

Also Donut's

[@xxxBradTxxx]

He went back and they treated him better that time.

[@alternatepriorities1106]

As an Alaskan it would be interesting to see you do an analysis of the Alaskan economy similar to those you’ve done for Texas and California. The dividend from the permanent fund has social and political implications both good and bad that are deeper than a quick glance would suggest and could make for an interesting topic. Call it a kind of UBI and you’ll even have a catchy title…

[@helloitsme4873]

Very well detailed video of my country ,keep it up👏

[@dlewis8405]

Brunei needs to get a plan together for the day when it can’t sell its oil anymore. It might have reserves for another 27 years but in probably 15 years the supply of oil will probably greatly exceed demand and the price will plunge. Low cost producers like Iraq and Saudi Arabia will still be in business at that point but many other oil producers wont

[@fatemad4012]

Iraq and Saudi Arabia when they will finish?

[@MoBoHoBoz]

The world might probably end soon anyways. God willing.. 😊😊

[@sctajc]

Absolute rubbish. The world runs on oil and gas and will still be doing so in 50??? years. The unknown is if fusion comes into play. Alternative energy sources are talked about alot but are expensive and mostly unreliable.

[@fid.firdhaus]

I live in the region of Sarawak, which basically borders Brunei and also cuts the country into two part after an englishman (which family ruled Sarawak for 100 years) purchased most of land from them. Bruneian loves going to Miri on the weekend as our currency is much lower than theirs are.

[@adammontoya8329]

I think comparing all oil rich nations confuses correlation with causation. It is pointed out in the video, but something like implementing Norway's policies would never work in a country that has a completely different set of values.

[@ernstschmidt4725]

values and social institutions

[@57thorns]

Norway had the huge advantage of being a working democracy with an educated population. Sure, the country is still expensive as heck and they do import a lot of foreign workers for the least attractive jobs (in particular Swedish youth that work in the fish industry) but it could have been so much worse.

[@b22chris]

Could you do a video on Alaska and do a deeper dive into those payments residents receive?

[@Khanfuzed1]

It’s like a week or two minimum wage job. It doesn’t really change much of anything tbh

[@TheUlquiorraCifer]

It's literally just socialism for the rich, the rich are preventing those people from becoming one of them.

[@leightonmoreno3855]

It either balances or isn't enough to offset the increased cost of living

[@rickypv2978]

At 5:47 he talks about it

[@b22chris]

@@rickypv2978 briefly. I meant a full video on alaskas economy

[@kayetealynn]

The PFD allowed me to be one of the rare millenials to not take out any student loans. I was born in Alaska and received a PFD every year until I moved out of state. My parents put mine in a college fund....I was lucky though...a lot of my friends growing up never saw a dime of any of theirs due to new tvs or vacations until they turned 18 and could claim their own.

[@0Dighs]

The bad thing about countries full of natural resources is that the rule is putting someone in power that will allow foreing superpowers (AKA USA and european powers) to exploit the resources nearly free of charge. When that doesn't happen the US will try (and normally succed) to bring "democracy" to those countries, Iraq, Venezuela, Kweit and others are exemples of that.

[@rdgamer4816]

I felt nice learning about a country i never even knew existed

[@Hortifox_the_gardener]

ouch on your education then 😱

[@FictionHubZA]

Brunei probably doesn't recognize your country as well.

[@DefineOutside]

Agreed, even I as a highly educated american can only name like 40 of the potentially hundreds of countries that exist in the world.

[@silvervirio3642]

​@@Hortifox_the_gardenerhoarding knowledge isn't particularly useful, you got so much to do but limited time. No need to learn everything. Only people who peak at high school think knowing more trivia than other is cool.

[@hanrianangga2608]

You must be..... (because of your shitty education system not just geography education) 🤣

[@you-know-who9023]

Comparing Brunei to Alaska is not appropriate. Norway is a more appropriate comparison. However while Norway is governed by western democratic values , and does have a welfare state, it is important to note that it's sovereign wealth is proportionately twice that of Norway Brunei is doing it's own thing and one only has to look at Guinea Bissau before rushing to criticism.

[@widodoakrom3938]

UEA is better comparison

[@zam023]

@@widodoakrom3938 Brunei does not spend like UAE.

[@stevenjuan259]

My greatest concern is how to recover from all these economic and global troubles and stay afloat especially with the political power tussle going on in US.

[@Zquirrelthing]

can't be an economics explained video without an big tangent about how much he loves norway lol

[@martijnprinzen7124]

Could you do a video on the entertainment industry? For jobs like atheletes, the film industry and influencers (KZbinrs) don't seem value adding or contributing to productivity, but make a lot of money often themselves. Are they a good thing to the global economy or would we be better off without them?

[@evandugas7888]

Well they have a use as advertisers. Entertainment contributes to the mental well being of society as a whole

[@bluemountain4181]

Isn't that a question of what people consider to be valuable? If happiness is considered valuable and entertainment makes people happy then KZbinrs are value adding in that they are taking a bit of electricity and turning it into happiness

[@evandugas7888]

@@frankthefkintank Some entertainment is bad, some is good. Point is it serves a purpose in the larger economy

[@fungo6631]

I think OP did mention something similar, comparing a Toyota Camry to some old Ferrari or Lamborghini.

[@Boredblacksheep]

He touched that point in some endless growth economy videos. They are useful because you can grow an economy without using land (apart from a room), they don't need mined resourced, they are just using other resources like a person and still produce money - unlike a factory or a oil refinery. You can watch the California video for this. (There were another 1-2 that touch the subject but I don't remember the names)

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

Ah Brunei! I knew about this. I like bringing them up everytime a libertarian likes to pretend all cultures share their values of freedom and extreme individualism as much as they do. Brunei is living counterexample to that as it's arguably the most complete and total dictatorship on Earth right now. Only North Korea could contest that title, and it's hilarious when westerners bring up Russia or China for this as neither Putin nor Xi can hold a candle to level of power vested in the king of Brunei. Not the aristocracy or even the royal house either, just the king himself. And yet there's barely any opposition to it. The country isn't some dystopian police state cracking down on popular revolt. Occasionally someone may get arrested, but by and large the populace goes along with it. Why? Cos he's so rich that despite his pampered lifestyle the govt. STILL manages to pay for everything for everyone. Sure this is an extreme example, but that's the point. People mostly aren't as universally simple as libertarians like to pretend. They have a number of things they care about beyond just a frothing need for freedom. The Gulf states are other examples, or even China (their favorite bugbear) itself. Contrary to the narrative the west likes to paint, the CCP enjoys quite a high level of social approval as shown by none other than Harvard uni of the US (so hatdly a friend of China) in their Understanding CCP Resilience report. And it's not like people don't complain - approval is lower for local govt, but Beijing itself enjoys higher support than any western ruling party does. Plenty of other examples too - El Salvador is a very recent one for example. Bukkele has turned a democracy into a full fledged dictatorship, and yet people love him for it (Wendover Production did a great video on this recently). And El Salvador isn't rich, unlike Brunei or Saudi Arabia. Neither is India, yet Modi is very popular. Hungary and Poland in Europe, or even the recent coup in Niger that's also got some public support. Does this mean that people actually like dictstorships? No of course not. It means that people aren't as simplistic as some ideologues like to make them out as being. Most people, even in the west, make complex choices about their govts. Liberal values aren't the be all and end all of our species political life.

[@christopherellis2663]

Churlishness leads to the gibbet.

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

​@@FF-le3ps Yeah, Thailand is a good case study of that. The current king isn't popular afaik, but the previous one was revered. And I don't mean just revered by state decree, but a lot of the people themselves really did revere him. Despite their actual govt. having one of thr most volatile histories in the last century of any country (swinging from dictatorship to democracy to dictatorship to democracy again more times than there have been Fast and the Furious films lol!). And the king of Thailand does have a good amount of power, he's not just a figurehead.

[@kalo8524]

I don't think libertarians believe that people have a burning desire for freedom. I'm pretty sure they think people SHOULD have a desire to be free. Of course, there are people who know nothing else than oppression, starvation and genocide, which is why they can't desire to be free. I also find it kinda ridiculous that the CCP resiliency report has anything to do with freedom or justice. Most people who are represented in that report like the CCP because it's willing to promote starvation and murder in order to support them. It's similar to the way Germans supported their government in WW2. They believed it was the only way to promote their interests.

[@torpenhigalak5909]

Complacency does not neglect tyranny, it is a loose chain that will snatch you back once a crisis surface. Tell me, what's the difference between your Monarch to a Tyrant when in your reverence you've excused liberty for fear of criticism?

[@fungo6631]

TL;DR here's your 0.50 Yuan.

[@khalidalali186]

I too live in a rentier economy, that revolves around a massive Social Welfare State. As a self-employed freelancer, you should see the weird stares I get, when I answer the infamous “Where do you work?” question, rather than the more universal “What do you do for a living?”

[@vladtheimpalerofd1rtypajee316]

Which country do you live in?

[@khalidalali186]

🇦🇪

[@vladtheimpalerofd1rtypajee316]

@@khalidalali186 Sweet. Love to UAE from Ireland. 🇦🇪 🤝🏻🇮🇪

[@anthonyyoung6489]

A little birdie has told me very loudly that a major major slice of the sovereign wealth fund has been invested in China and Malaysia which you may or may not know had almost the entire swf was stolen by one man while he was hanging out with leaonardo DiCaprio. That’s the word on the street anyway. Good luck for them.

[@TheBlackatdz]

Do an episode on the economy of algeria please, love your work !

[@franekkos574]

Hey, I love your videos, they are so helpfull with understanding global economics. Thank you for creating such a useful and interesting content. Can you make one about Poland? It is often called an “economic miracle” because of its rapid growth since the 90s.

[@scottyflintstone]

They wouldn't like that as Poland is a low tax state with a lassiez faire policy towards small business

[@abbasibrahim9435]

I think that he or economicaltsimplified already made one about Poland

[@UGMD]

@@scottyflintstonewhat do you think economics explains’s politics are?? He’s always come off as generic slight right tilt to me

[@scottyflintstone]

@@UGMD oh...not seeing that. That's good if we both see it differently though as it means he is probably close to the mark

[@philzan3627]

>people having a good life overall >economists: "How can I ruin that?"

[@fatemad4012]

Without pain you can't cure a desease?

[@zam023]

@@fatemad4012 The disease does not exist to begin with. The OP is just speculating there will be a disease in 30 years time.

[@BatCaveOz]

Booze & tobacco are illegal to sell in Brunei. Every thing (except the mosques and the night markets next to the mosques) closes at about 6PM. Unlike Hong Kong or Dubai, or UAE, or Singapore... no one wants to move there for work.

[@beidero]

Every video on this channel where oil is involved, "just be Norway"

[@ElliottA7]

EE, I have a headstart on your next "errors compilation" video: most lottery winners do NOT end up losing it all. Most (approx 70%) lottery winners end up with a comfortable investment portfolio and quietly retire. You just never hear those stories.

[@bestyoutubechannelever3206]

If I were ruler of a country like this, I'd definitely take advantage of the pot of gold we had but the ultimate goal would be just to use the riches to develop the country and then convert it to a Swiss type of diversified free market economy with a private insurance based social security system. "Happy capitalism".

[@BendyDH]

Seems like there’s a lot of potential being wasted in Brunei. They’re like not even being obscenely luxurious with their oil money like in Arabia, Brunei is just content existing

[@carlos1brown316]

Good monring, everyone. I've been quite concerned about the recent economic downturn and its impact on my finances. Has anyone else been feeling the pinch?

[@addisonwillow1055]

Absolutely, Carlos. The recession has affected many aspects of our economy. I've seen my investments take a hit, and it's been nerve-wracking.

[@ethandaniel9071]

I can relate, Addison. My job security feels a bit shaky these days, too. It's unsettling.

[@levisebastian9525]

It's tough times indeed. I've been hearing about this financial advisor, Kayla Tabitha Rodrigues, who's been helping people navigate these challenging economic waters. Has anyone had experience with her?

[@carlos1brown316]

I've heard of Kayla, but I haven't worked with her personally. It'd be great to know more about how she's been assisting people during this recession.

[@clintscott3300]

Well, I've had the privilege of working with Kayla Tabitha Rodrigues, and I can't recommend her enough. She has a deep understanding of the financial landscape during recessions.

[@icebreaking3336]

This video is more about comparasion about brunei and the other oil place in the west and persian gulf rather then brunei itself

[@pin65371]

IMO governments should always be looking at ways to move their public service workers into the private sector. Having lots of qualified people working for private companies means if the government wants to work on big projects quickly they can tap into the private sector to do the specialties work for the government.

[@bobbyofbrunei2023]

Privatization does happen, most people are not happy about it though when it does. They like being employed by the government.

[@shauncameron8390]

@@bobbyofbrunei2023 Because they're infantilized.

[@edpliml2902]

You put "GROWTH" up in text as you were explaining GDP per capita. I LOVE your videos. Thank you!

[@reelgenius007]

Was just going to mention this. Also, it says withing instead of within under stability and confidence 12:04

[@royjaber571]

The government of Brunei could artificially create jobs by opening public shops and factories... it would intice youths into working since it's a governmental corporation.

[@muhammadadambinmohdrazihan9988]

Ahh yes i think have i seen this scenario before. Did not turn good at all

[@nishant54]

​@@muhammadadambinmohdrazihan9988But people everywhere are not entitled like in USA

[@kalo8524]

​@@nishant54ah yes that's the problem is the United States because that's the scapegoat for everything. I'm not sure he's even talking about the US. Those types of plans have always done more harm than good every time they have been tried throughout the entirety of history regardless of government organization or culture.

[@ckpal3575]

Just wait till oil runs out 😅

[@royjaber571]

@@ckpal3575 the governmental companies should make a profit, so when oil runs out they can sustain themselves using these new industries

[@kevincronk7981]

I like the concept of your national leaderboard, but I've always felt like it's unfairly biased towards larger countries. For example, the US isn't inherently a better economy than Luxembourg simply because it's a larger one. It may be better, it may be worse, size really doesn't matter much. But your leaderboard has a metric which simply says that it's better to be a large country and the industry metric also is largely just again asking how big the economy is.

[@YangSunWoo]

He could use weighted scores, but that would probably make it really hard for viewers to follow how certain aspects influenced the final score. He should just have a simple version and a more nuanced version in the description or something.

[@davidn4161]

Size does matter though. Size brings confidence and influence. Luxembourg is great but if it’s economy feels a shock, it won’t affect the entire world. On the other hand, if there’s a shock in the U.S. economy , certainly the world will feel it. That has to be accounted for in some way.

[@riderchallenge4250]

Luxembourg dosen't even matter that much. It can't even defend itself if other invades it. US has a large economy large soft power and influence on global geopolitics

[@riderchallenge4250]

Luxembourg is definitely better at living standards but that dosen't matter when it comes to power punches

[@Ynhockey]

His leaderboard indeed gives huge weight to the size of the economy, which is also reflected in stability and confidence. There is a good point to be made here though - there are a number of large economies that have been self-destruting for several decades now, and are still large and fairly wealthy. If a small country went through a similar process, it would be much worse off. There are several reasons for this; for example, internal markets are very stable, so a large country will make many everyday goods locally and enjoy economies of scale; secondly, countries with more global influence tend to "win" foreign government contracts, especially in defense; currencies used by more people tend to be more stable; etc.

[@Lucas_Ficz]

Brunei is the next Nauru.

[@wilsonli5642]

Here's where I feel like a mere economic analysis is inadequate, without a social and political analysis. Brunei is still a monarchy where the monarch reserves significant political power, and organized political opposition is practically nonexistent. There's technically a constitution, but they haven't held an election since 1962. The title "Sultan of Brunei" is practically synonymous with "kleptocracy". Even if the government is able to materially provide for its citizens, this does not bode well for a healthy civil society.

[@MM22966]

Yeah, they are never going to be able to do a Norway or a Holland, because they don't have the mentality or ethics to go with it.

[@enkryptron]

better than Singapore's cronyism

[@wilsonli5642]

@@enkryptron Why?

[@RandomYoutuber234]

Maybe do a video on Norway now that it's literally named in all your videos? 😊

[@perer005]

It would just make people in the US even more depressed…

[@yimhappy]

He did do a video on Norway. Look back in the archives.

[@matthewgreen8089]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnyqqHp3fd-hfLM&ab_channel=EconomicsExplained

[@RandomYoutuber234]

@@yimhappy I've seen that actually, but that was many years ago and with no leaderboard placement.

[@grahambohl5205]

Thanks again for this excellent read once again.

[@makesiquashie4358]

A video on the economy of Trinidad and Tobago would be great!

[@slamberm9494]

Their economy is also based on oil. It’s the richest country in the Caribbean. My ancestral country. What’s your interest in it?

[@MrThias91]

Denmark has a lot of taxes - wonder when you're getting to Denmark!

[@jakob6960]

Denmark sucks :(

[@shauncameron8390]

And used to have the world's highest household debt until Canada took over that spot.

[@GCdevine1]

Could more states adopt the Alaskan fund model but through other industries?

[@ernstschmidt4725]

mining states could maybe. it's all about point source resources

[@marchlopez9934]

Brunei, one of the smallest countries in Asia, is a welfare state where the government pays for almost everything, including healthcare, education, and subsidized housing, due to its rich natural gas and petroleum industry. However, this dependence on oil and gas has led to concerns about the country's future economic growth and diversification. The "resource curse" phenomenon, where countries with abundant natural resources struggle to diversify their economies and have poor growth in non-resource sectors, is a real threat to Brunei's economy. Despite efforts to diversify, the sale of oil and natural gas still represents 62% of Brunei's GDP and 90% of its total exports, and the reserves are estimated to run out in only 27 years. While the welfare state model may seem appealing, it can also lead to unintended consequences, such as a lack of fiscal accountability between the state and its citizens. The government is making efforts to diversify its economy, but there are still uncertainties about how oil wealth is being invested and concerns about future real GDP growth not keeping up with population growth.

[@cikicikibumbum259]

Dude Brunei is a small country, small population. If they failed as a state, they can be easily absorbed into Malaysia the next day. They're basically Malay. For comparison, Indonesian poor which is roughly >10% is about 30 Millions is 50x bigger than entire Brunei population, that'sa when Indonesia is having economic boom. In other words, if they went bankrupt, the effect is barely noticed, far smaller effect than Detroit when It lost auto industry. They won't be refugees,.

[@jestinmathew4503]

Good video. Talking about government jobs, even in India, obsession with government jobs is very high even though India is a non oil and non rentier economy. This is because government jobs have job security, many perks in service and post retirement, public authority, ease to get a girl for marriage and avenues to make illegal money. In fact, the obsession with government jobs in some parts of India is such that families would rather marry their daughter to someone who works as a janitor in a government office rather than a professional in a private company. Thankfully this trend is sort of declining and hopefully it will continue this way.

[@baha3alshamari152]

I thought the major trend in India is how to move to Canada

[@jestinmathew4503]

@@baha3alshamari152 That's also a trend. But the obsession with government jobs in India is not that well known to foreigners.

[@souvicknath5716]

​@@baha3alshamari152 that's only more prevalent among punjabis ( sikhs in particular). No south / east Indians want to go to Canada.

[@souvicknath5716]

​@@jestinmathew4503 still it's the number one trend in India..... more seen in Northern states.

[@SathyaswamyS]

I wish India finds extremely giant reserves of oil, gas or any other high value and high demand resource, so that India can get rich in a short span of time like the Gulf.

I needed that grammarly code last month !!!

[@hyperhero8345]

Oil reserves don’t deplete. They are replenished regularly as it becomes economical to prove more oil exists. Its not as if Brunei will stop producing oil 27 years from now. As an economics channel I would really hope you guys understand this.

[@watchm4ker]

Stuff doesn't just appear because you want it to. Once stuff is dug or pumped out of the ground, that's all you get. Water is the one exception, as it gets endlessly recycled through evaporation and rainfall.

[@lale5767]

Dude, minus the visuals you could have been talking about the UAE. Seriously the similarity of the issues is uncanny.

[@GNARGNARHEAD]

the unemployment rate is 5.2% ...

[@VirtousStoic]

He owns almost every car in existance. But was negligent enough to leave them in an open tower with no temperarure control, no trickle chargers, and no protection from the elements and weather. And most of them are rusted Beyond disgusting

[@Mizumelon]

I was just going through youtube adventures and ran into your channel. I'm very surprised that you covered my home country, Brunei. It is sad, but the unemployed youths in Brunei is a real unfortunate situation. I have friends there that want to get out of unemployment, but it's a real struggle to try to find respectable jobs for the qualifications they carry.

[@DiasusCH]

I think that little bit in your comment sums most of it up: "respectable jobs". I live in Switzerland and despite being one of the richest countries, no job is considered not worthy of respect. No one will look down on you or treat you less for doing menial/blue collar or whatever your take on "not respectable" is. You don't have to overqualify for a dignified life. Also, working with your hands can be very fulfilling and it's good not to be thought any less of a person because of it.

[@sallyxu6121]

​@@DiasusCHIt is true youths in Brunei are job picky. But there's also a valid reason for it too. Jobs outside the so called "respectable" ones don't pay well at all. Unlike what the video described, construction labour here can earn less than 400 Brunei dolla or 294+ usd per month. The blue collar jobs are really earning next to nothing in today's living cost and rising inflation. These jobs are often meant for foreigners who come here, toughing the rough living conditions and living bare minimum. The amount can convert to reasonable sum for those coming from countries with weaker currency e.g. India, Indonesia, etc. For this reason too the social stigma is strong here. Secondly, the climate here is hot all year around. Outdoor works carry real risk and hazard from heat stroke and other HSE related risks too making it super unattractive to youths today who love nothing more than post videos on TikTok and the likes. Can't exactly do that with a face disfigured by overexposure to the sun and rain. I am not defending anyone or anything here, just adding facts.

[@i2cybeast]

@@DiasusCH Real.

[@Muazen]

All jobs are respectable. But I guess that'll become clear in 26 years.

[@girlofthesea_]

@@DiasusCH it isnt about the indignity or the optics of taking a menial job, its that the youth have taken great lengths in pursuing higher education: degrees, masters etc and they're seeking jobs which put their qualifications to use, which are scarce. A bit of a waste to spend years in higher education then accept a job which doesnt utilize their skills no ?

[@vaiyaktikasolarbeam1906]

7:08 yaay animation!!

[@Spectacurl]

I know that the future expectation are not good but it makes no sense to put Brunei bellow Nauru or Pakistan

[@nonamenoname9468]

Its not a scientific measuremnt and not evaluating individual outcomes

[@user-xm9sb5zv8t]

The rates of unemployment are amazingly high at all level and not to mention a Very Clear of High Nepotism being practiced mostly clear n visible both at public sector n even private sector in terms of jobs being acceptance or rank promotion

[@Georget3652]

I would like to see a video explaining malaysia, since you have explained most of its neighbouring countries (indonesia, Singapore, Brunei) 😅

[@imanizz.]

same case as always😤🎩

[@zondor8123]

Most of the time malay always being eclipsed by its neighbors Singapore as the most advanced in SEA and Indonesia the giants with the greatest economy in SEA

[@imanizz.]

@@zondor8123 Not that greatest,however the internet influence makes it the most prominent i’d say

[@raufamin]

@@zondor8123 malay is a race. the country is malaysia. I am a singaporean of malay decent but definitely not malaysian.

[@rizkyadiyanto7922]

its just bigger brunei and smaller indonesia.

[@truesouth4784]

Brunei would have to be one of the most boring tourist destinations I have ever been to.

[@asrinkyuga5408]

But there something new tho but thats ur problem

[@DeVallaR]

The more Economics Explained videos i watch, the more i realise that most of the countries out there are potatoe economies parading around with prada shoes. Doesn't that mean something is fundamentally wrong with the way that we are applying human efforts?

[@buj1387]

What do you ask of your government, and your country's wealth? Would you wish your gov't share more of that wealth with its people rather than spend it on unnecessary things? What would you wish from your gov't? Free/cheap medical coverage? Cheap/subsidized housing? Free education up to doctorate degree? Subsidized fuel (that leads to cheap transportation hence cheaper food n essential commodities? Cheap electricity utilising natural resources that your country have in abundance? Well Bruneians get all that because the gov't owes that to them. Without its ppl who are the gov't really? They are there for the ppl, of the ppl and by the ppl, and Brunei gov't really encapsulates that ethos.

[@Mr.Engineer.]

Hey, I know you have alteady donw Norway, but you made a video on it before younatarted with the leaderboard. Maybe about time to do a quick summary and put us somewhere on that board? Really curious were you will put us 🤓

[@tindrums]

Brunei is an oil emirate

[@verifeli]

Meanwhile in Indonesia, lots of people are praising Brunei for no tax,no debt,free healthcare, free school,etc.

[@senanur1983]

Atleast they created a soverign fund. What did UK do for its citizens with all the North Sea oil profits? Don’t always think taxation = accountability.

[@SachinathSivananthan]

Would be great if a segment on Malaysia can be done too. Thank you

[@someguy-eh9mg]

That comment about lottery winners losing it all isnt true. Only a very small few lost it all.

[@benchoflemons398]

I think he’s aware

[@andir7374]

I dnot really know how much Lottery winners lose it all, but there is a study that shows, that lottery winners are, on average, some of the unhappiest people ever

[@j.asmrgaming1228]

most of the sources I'm looking at say about 1/3 declare bankruptcy. this is definitely not the 70% that some say, but 1/3 is still a significant percentage considering the national average is .12

[@johnr797]

A very small few? Nah. I mean, to win the lottery, you have to be dumb enough to buy lottery tickets in the first place. That's already placing you at a massive disadvantage.

[@JLchevz]

Argentina in the leaderboard will never not be funny

[@Luke-ny6fu]

Love your videos. I would love one about the economy of Italy🇮🇹

[@ilmaurizetazetaerre]

it's been done already

[@RangerRyke]

Always learning so much from your vids

[@scottyflintstone]

As if Brunei owes it to the world to disclose their business dealings. 05:30 here is an idea: the Govt sends oil revenue directly to Citizens, minus taxes. That way there is no need for an additional bureaucracy in the form of a tax agency, as the taxes were prepaid.

[@patriarch7237]

"As if Brunei owes it to the world to disclose their business dealings." The issue he is getting at, is that Brunei doesn't even tell its own people where the money is invested. With no real oversight whatsoever, that is a recipe for not investing it very well.

[@scottyflintstone]

@@patriarch7237 thank you for the clarification.

[@VaibhavShewale]

listning about this first time ever!

[@dewaard3301]

It's kind of amazing how little humans can do with wealth that is not earned.

[@FullLengthInterstates]

6:00 alaska should build the line.

[@alex_zetsu]

The oil to cash idea sounds silly, it means the government helps the people and then the wealth is helping the people not the monarchy, which is something that they wouldn't want. If there is tension between the interests of the government and the people, the government will usually choose itself so recommending it not enrich itself is advice falling on deaf ears. If you want to give advise, give advice that helps both sides. For example, a well-managed Sovreign Wealth Fund is better than just spending all the money right away. And you need to manage your SWF better than Nauru. As for what advice to give... I honestly don't know. I only know examples of what not to do and I also know that "give the wealth to the people" isn't going to be the most appealing thing to do.

[@nonamenoname9468]

Well they do have a national wealth fund

[@bicyclist2]

The Sultan of Bruni has the world's biggest and best exotic car collection in the world. Thank you.

[@toddwinton5025]

The main problem that needs to be avoided with welfare (government or inheritance) is taking away an individuals need for struggle which can eventually lead to the destruction of the state/family.

[@Casabian7]

Leave it to EE to find something bad when the Gov't is helping its population. Meanwhile US which is considered to be the wealthiest country in the world has millions of people homeless and starving.

[@eirikarnesen9691]

as a norwegian, i can promise you, the recource curse is real. our current system is not designed for entrapernourship. kinda hard to have a taxation system designed for large amounts of natural recource wealth, and a low tax evironment at the same time. the modern political system is not nuanced enougth to deal with it. its possible to do it, but not within the current rules of the empire. we need significantly more gouvernmental involvement in the economy to make it function, since that where most of the money is. but thats considered communism, and dissliked in the current environment. expecting third world nations to be able to find the perfect balance on this is.. lets say risky

[@shafuimcoming5151]

Be grateful. Resources are the only reason you living better quality of life compare to your big brother Sweden.

[@nonamenoname9468]

Statistically, Norway is a bastion of Enteroreneurship

[@secrets.295]

You don't need more government involvement. State Owned Companies are usually unproductive and they breed lazy people. I live in Malaysia and lately the majority of the State Owned Companies are not doing well, far worse compared to the private sectors and the government is working hard to make the economy less dependent on SOE's. Norway's high taxes are extremely ridiculous. Taxes should be far lower than what it is today, I don't get why Norway needed to have such high taxes when they have so much natural resources. Lower the taxes and immediately you will see a lot more foreign investments ala Ireland & Singapore. And FDI to me is good for tiny populations because through FDI they will breed a new way of thinking, go global and be more entrepreneurial. Singapore 30 years ago is a non entrepreneurial country, these days many startups are popping up in Singapore. In my opinion Ireland is slowly catching up with startups too. Norway will forever be stuck in that rut if it continues with high taxes. It's not the job of a government to do business, it's the job of a government to facilitate business. However these days, facilitating businesses is viewed as frowned upon in the west. If u do that then u are making the wealth gap bigger 🙄. U can't have everything at the end of the day.

[@christiantripepi9909]

​@@secrets.295The government should enact measures to improve the quality of life of the citizens while not directly creating state owned companies but focusing on companies closely in contact with the state which focus on sustainability and innovation instead of wastefull profit which ends up going into the hands of the rich

[@eirikarnesen9691]

@@secrets.295 false. you dont understand what it takes to be top teir. like we need foreign investements...

[@khoaang3079]

2:47 u should add Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa archipelagoes into Vietnam's map

[@universal1945]

Can you do a video on Iraqi Kurdistan’s economy please?

[@kabongpope]

"withing three decades" So much for Grammerly! 😂

[@alainmilette6460]

By all accounts Canada is an oil rich country. Yet it does take more than 50% of my income 😂 😢

[@Distant_Relative]

5:23 The blue guy got no money, he is democracy believer.

[@michealwestfall8544]

Their government should start the businesses themselves and then sell them at discount to entrepreneurs. With partial ownership to the state and the entrepreneurs can't sell the business for 10 years, though they can transfer it to someone else if they can't handle it.

[@nonamenoname9468]

Well if government could do enterpreneurship themselves you wouldnt need enterpreneurs. Maybe giving loans or something similar might do what you are playing at

[@bodaciouschad]

High youth unemployment (due to a lack of jobs capable of improving their quality of life) Low supply of desperate workers willing to prop up "Entrepenuers"... these are good things.

[@nonamenoname9468]

Just the youth unemployment itself is decidedly not a good thing, especially since companies in brunei will not feel the need to raise wages and attract these potential workers

[@SSupporter_]

Brunei perlu revormasi finansial agar tidak senasib dengan Nauru selagi punya modalisasi lebih sebaiknya berebut lahan investasi di negara berkembang terutama tetangga mungkin saja nilai yang kembali tidak akan sebanyak saat menambang minyak tapi setidaknya uang terus mengalir dari luar sebagai cadangan untuk opsi-opsi lainnya yang akan berkembang ke depannya

[@stevepierre182]

Ekonomi yang variasi sangat penting, jangan tumpukan satu sector sja.

[@AndriansyahAndriansyah-rr6li]

Tenang saja industri migas tidak akan punah. Semua negara pasti memerlukan migas untuk menggerakkan ekonomi. Selama energi terbarukan masih bermasalah dengan kehandalan ( reliabitiy) energi migas tetap akan dipakai. Pendapatan Brunei mungkin akan berkurang tapi tetap akan menjadi negara kaya.