Central Asia after Two Decades of Independence

Abstract

After becoming independent in 1991, the five Central Asian countries pursued differing transition paths from the defunct central planning. This paper analyses the connection between economic policies and performance during the 1990s and 2000s. Performance over the two decades has been determined by resource endowments rather than by policy. International relations, which were predicted to centre on a new Great Game among external powers, have been more muted than anticipated, centring on geopolitics and pipelines, and with a consequence of hampering desirable economic cooperation within Central Asia. Prospects for significant change in the near future are limited because by the end of the 1990s the window of opportunity for policy initiatives had shut and entrenched political regimes had little incentive to sponsor major reforms.

Central Asian geo-relation networks: Evolution and driving forces

“…Joining these influential IGOs has enabled Central Asian countries to gain international recognition and economic aid. Central Asian countries began to embrace the Western democratic political system and develop a market economy (Pomfret, 2012), with the intention of reducing the traditional influence of Russia. The OSCE and EBRD, as the third and sixth most influential IGOs in 1993, brought Central Asian countries not only economic assistance but also European influence.…”

A Social Accounting Matrix for Kyrgyzstan for 2010

“…Comprehensive economic reform packages on price and trade liberalization and mass privatization found strong support from international financial organizations. However, economic growth during the post-reformist period in 2000s has been remaining unsustainable (see for instance, Pomfret, 2010). In particular, political events happened in 2005 and 2010 affected economic performance negatively of the country.…”

“…Comprehensive economic reform packages on price and trade liberalization and mass privatization found strong support from international financial organizations. However, economic growth during the post-reformist period in 2000s has been remaining unsustainable (see for instance, Pomfret, 2010 rd among the top 10 recipients of migrant remittances as a share of GDP in 2011. Such large amount of remittances inflow helps reduction in deficit of balance of payments and can be seen as one of the major factors in sustaining livelihood of most rural population.…”

Connectedness and SME Financing in Post-Communist Economies: Evidence from Uzbekistan

“…In this particular example of access to formal credit, the implication is that society will fail to allocate one of its scarce resources to its most productive use, as a result experiencing allocative inefficiency. Uzbekistan's initial market-oriented reforms from independence to the mid-1990s were relatively speedy and comprehensive (Pomfret, 2010 …”