Innovation in the GCC Countries: An Economic Analysis

Abstract

Innovation in the GCC Countries: An Economic Analysis Aljawareen, Adnan Farhan (Ph.D) Abstract Innovation means creating better quality products and services, which together create a better quality of life.The purpose of this research is to explain why the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are still struggling in the field of innovation in spite of the fact that the council is made up of rich countries with high per capita income.The aim of this paper is to explain the reality of the situation with regard to innovation in the GCC countries and to identify the main obstacles and challenges facing these countries. The main finding, based on qualitative research methods, is that there are numerous obstacles facing GGC countries, obstacles such as low investment in research and development as a percentage of GDP, a very low number of high-tech exports as a percentage of manufactured exports and a low proportion of workers employed in knowledge-intensive activities.These findings confirm that the GCC governments need to make great efforts to develop innovation especially with regard to the indicators mentioned above. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jeds.v5n4a4