Policy, Governance, and Technology: What Drives AI Readiness? An Empirical Study of 155 Countries

Policy, Governance, and Technology: What Drives AI Readiness? An Empirical Study of 155 Countries | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Policy, Governance, and Technology: What Drives AI Readiness? An Empirical Study of 155 Countries Shreeram Thakur This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6576371/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study analyzes the determinants of national AI readiness across 155 countries from 2020 to 2024 using fixed effects panel regression. Results show that human capital, data availability, infrastructure, and innovation capacity are the strongest predictors of AI readiness. Leadership vision, governance ethics, and adaptability also have significant positive effects. The findings offer evidence-based policy recommendations to build resilient and future-ready AI strategies. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Other Public Policy Artificial Intelligence Readiness Human Capital Digital Infrastructure Governance and Ethics Innovation Capacity Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6576371","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":450957037,"identity":"a43c6ad4-9b26-491b-9406-bb59cbad9bcf","order_by":0,"name":"Shreeram Thakur","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Joint Secretary, Government of Nepal","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shreeram","middleName":"","lastName":"Thakur","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-05-02 07:39:02","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6576371/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6576371/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":81927654,"identity":"2820d480-3488-48f3-9052-0c5d3b84f504","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-05 04:10:05","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":293804,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Paper.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6576371/v1_covered_cab67123-d04e-44d8-900f-03cd30b78ab6.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003ePolicy, Governance, and Technology: What Drives AI Readiness? 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