Innovation Pickup Policies and Digital Convergence Clubs in Arab Countries: Results from Cluster Analysi

The aim of the study is to identify patterns of digital transformation of the economies of Arab countries in order to improve innovation policy directions and level the digital divide between developed and developing Arab countries. The theoretical framework of the study consists of works in the field of neoclassical economic growth theory: the technology diffusion model of Robert Barro and Javier Sala-i-Martin, which explains that convergence caused by the spread and borrowing of technologies, along with behavioral factors, can have a significant impact on economic growth; the club convergence hypothesis of William Baumol and the model of technology adoption by developing countries presented in the works of the Russian economist O.G. Golichenko and co-authors. The methodological basis of the study is the use of integral indices measuring the digital maturity of Arab countries and the development of digital human capital in them. These indices are used to group Arab countries using the hierarchical clustering method. As a result, groups of countries similar in terms of digital development and the digital divide between developed and devel-oping Arab countries were identified. A digital convergence club of Arab countries has been identified, represented by the Gulf Cooperation Council member countries (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman) and the most developed Arab Mediterranean countries (Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon, Egypt). Framework stages for imple-menting an innovation policy aimed at further digital transformation of developed countries and adoption of new tech-nologies by developing countries have been proposed for developing countries.