As construction cranes littering Dubai’s skyline go idle, it’s time to revisit that ever intriguing economic indicator: the Skyscraper Curse.

As this columnist has pointed out periodically, there’s an uncanny, if unscientific, correlation between financial crises and efforts to build the world’s tallest building. Look no further than Kuala Lumpur in 1997, Chicago in 1974, New York in 1930 and in biblical times with the Tower of Babel.

The human propensity for architectural overreach has been a surprisingly reliable omen. It’s not a stretch to think of such projects as visual punctuation marks. A giant billboard made of steel, glass, concrete and money. A common thread between skyscrapers and economic disasters has to be easy credit, which fuels irrational growth, valuations, and hubris.

The gleaming Burj Dubai, as fate would have it, recently overtook Taipei 101 as the tallest building at 818 meters (2,684 feet). Right on cue, Dubai’s economy is looking unthinkably shaky.