A Comparative Study on Economic Performance of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan from the Perspective of Neo-liberal Approach (1991-2010)

Neoliberal approach with the aim to promote development in different countries has particular implications. It can be cited as monetary and financial system reform, privatization, elimination of barriers to trade and foreign investment. Hence, from the beginning of the post-Soviet, Central Asian countries adopted different approaches towards economic reform and moved towards a free market with the objective of economic development. They have reached different conclusions. For example, while Uzbekistan had 5.2 percent of economic growth, Kazakhstan with 10 percent of economic growth was among the world top 10 countries in terms of the set. It had Two-thirds of economy in private sector, the most advanced country in the region in terms of economic reforms, size of government in this country is much smaller than Uzbekistan, while in all cases, Uzbekistan is the fourth or fifth among the five countries of Central Asia. We believe this difference in status between the two countries is because of early compliance of Kazakhstan’s economy with neoliberal policies in relation to economic reforms and mismatch and delay in economic reforms in Uzbekistan. The aim of this paper is to examine political economy of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, based on the neoliberal approach.