The Transition Economies of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan: Old Habits, New Approaches

with

Farrukh Irnazarov,
Visiting Research Associate, Johns Hopkins University

and

Roman Vakulchuk,
Senior Research Fellow, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), Oslo, Norway

This presentation assesses the market transition path of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan by studying state–business interactions in two countries. It evaluates the role of the state and private economic actors in shaping the institutional structure of the economies and identifies the type of the emerging market-oriented economies of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The study to be presented is based on 375 semi-structured interviews conducted with representatives of political and economic elites in two countries in 2009–2013.