Yousif Sabba · Sirati, Inc.

Although many affluent nations have modernized their transportation infrastructure, telecommunication services and financial systems, it does not mean that they have developed local technological competencies. This paper defines Technological Rentierism as an explanatory theory for how high-income economies can continue to rely upon external sources of innovation. Fragmented domestic capability development, procurement that prioritizes imported technology, the legitimacy effect of foreign systems, and perceived risk asymmetries make domestic capability formation more difficult—leaving technological dependence as a stable equilibrium rather than a resource constraint.