",The most impo r tant source of sustainable economic growth in advanced economies is homegrown innovation, underlain by high allocations of resources to research a nd development. The Gulf economies realize this a nd have set out economic visions that target improving homegrown innovation as part of a transition to a knowledge economy. However at present, the Gulf economies realize low levels of homegrown innovation a nd technological advancement, indicating the need fo r further refo r ms. Among the many facto r s that contribute to the weakness of homegrown innovation is the guest-wo r ker system used to manage migrant wo r kers, as it creates perverse incentives fo r knowledge transfer, a nd discourages investment in long-term knowledge production infrastructure. This paper argues that the Gulf countries should consider introducing a structured path to naturalized citizenship fo r highly-skilled migrant wo r kers, as this will improve homegrown levels of innovation.",