Are There Any Binding Constraints for Knowledge-Based Economy in Qatar?

The research used descriptive and qualitative approaches within the New Institutional Economics paradigm to achieve the research objectives. This was done through descriptive data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and semi-structured interviews from a sample of participants from the startup ecosystem in Qatar to answer the research question of the binding constraints in achieving a KBE in Qatar. Taking cognizance that natural resource-driven economic development may not be sustainable, Qatar’s leadership launched the Qatar National Vision 2030, with the expectation that educational expansion and reform will turn Qatar’s carbon economy into a “knowledge economy” economy. The Qatari government’s National Development Strategy 2018-2022 has anchored the economic diversification agenda on building a Knowledge-Based Economy (KBE). This study aims to investigate the binding constraints of building a Knowledge-Based Economy in Qatar. The findings show that per the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor analysis, compared to selected countries, Qatar scored a relatively high mark across the different dimensions of the New Institutional Economics, including institution, governance, market, and culture. This shows that the Knowledge-Based Economy in Qatar is developing. The stakeholder interview results show that the significant issue that may potentially derail entrepreneurial culture and the transition to a Knowledge-Based Economy in Qatar is institutional factors, as all respondents reported about institutional challenges. Several studies have looked at various issues of building a Knowledge-Based Economy in Qatar but to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to look at the binding constraints of building a Knowledge-Based Economy in Qatar using the New Institutional Economics theory as a tool of analysis