If the Skyscraper Index maintains its track record , then China should steel itself for economic collapse . The infamous property index says construction booms that give rise to the world 's tallest buildings are the harbingers of economic busts . On July 20 , developers celebrated the groundbreaking of Sky City in the southern Chinese city of Changsha . It is set to be completed in 2014 and at 838 meters it would overshadow the Burj Khalifa in Dubai -- currently the world 's tallest building -- by 10 meters . `` The Skyscraper Index has a good 150-year correlation between the world 's tallest buildings and economic slowdowns and recessions , '' says Andrew Lawrence , pioneer of the Skyscraper Index and head of Hong Kong and China property research at CIMB Group . `` For China , there is no reason that correlation will change . '' China starts work on world 's tallest building . According to the Skyscraper Index , the opening of every single `` world 's tallest '' building in the past century has coincided with an economic downturn in that country . In the United States , builders installed the spire on New York 's Chrysler Building on October 23,1929 making it the tallest building in the world at 319 meters . Five days later , the Wall Street Crash wiped nearly 13 % off the stock market and precipitated the country 's Great Depression . In March 1996 , Malaysia 's Petronas Towers were completed making it the world 's tallest building at 452 meters . Just sixteen months later , the Asian financial crisis hit the country and region . Malaysia 's stock market lost half of its value by the end of 1997 . And in Dubai , the 828-meter Burj Khalifa received its spire in October 2009 . Two months later , a massive debt crisis slammed the Middle Eastern metropolis as the global financial crisis roiled world markets . Similar economic storms have followed other imposing structures soon after their construction , including the Empire State Building and World Trade Center in New York and the Taipei 101 in Taiwan . Does skyscraper boom herald economic doom ? Lawrence believes that both skyscrapers and economic busts are often closely associated with large expansions of credit . `` Like the one we saw in China post-2008 , '' he says . In 2008 , as the global financial crisis took hold , China launched a period of loose monetary policies to jump start its economy with liquidity and the hope of spurring investment . Many analysts say those policies seeded a credit boom of easy money and a building boom of unneeded or ostentatious properties that are now coming back to haunt constructors and investors . As skyscrapers rise , markets fall . `` China will be building over 40 % of the world 's skyscrapers over the next four years so clearly there 's a building bubble , '' says Lawrence . Last week , the final beam was hoisted on the main structure of Shanghai Tower , which will soon become China 's tallest building . At more than 600 meters , the building will be the second highest in the world , below the Burj Khalifa and ahead of Taiwan 's Taipei 101 building . `` They certainly were not bashful about wanting ( one of ) the tallest buildings ... here in Shanghai , '' says Art Gensler , founder of the Gensler global design and architecture group . `` They wanted something that was a symbol , and I believe this building will be the symbol of China . '' Meanwhile , anxiety is ramping up about what a collapse in China 's building boom might bring . `` The China story has taken a serious turn for the worse , '' wrote Peking University finance professor and China expert Michael Pettis , in a July op-ed for CNN . `` China , it now seems , is about to collapse , and along the way it may well bring the world economy down with it . '' If that were to happen , China 's Sky City -- with a nearly $ 1.5 billion price tag -- could be the country 's biggest landmark to its property largesse . In July , official data showed the country 's economic growth slowed to 7.5 % in the second quarter of this year -- its slowest pace in nine months , according to the National Bureau of Statistics . Over the past three decades China had an average GDP growth rate of 10 % .
China 's biggest boom to meet economic doom , if history is precedent . China 's Sky City will be world 's tallest building in 2018 at 838 meters , besting Burj Tower . Market crashes followed construction of Chrysler Towers , Petronas Towers , Burj . CIMB 's findings : Economic busts tend to occur after large credit expansion like in China .