Richard Pomfret
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780691182216
- eISBN:
- 9780691185408
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691182216.003.0007
- Subject:
- Business and Management, International Business
This chapter looks at the national economy and transition strategies of the Kyrgyz Republic. The Kyrgyz Republic was the most explicit of the Central Asian countries in attempting a rapid transition ...
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This chapter looks at the national economy and transition strategies of the Kyrgyz Republic. The Kyrgyz Republic was the most explicit of the Central Asian countries in attempting a rapid transition from central planning. Economic performance was, however, disappointing due to limited resources and poor institutions. The country became highly dependent on revenues from a single goldmine, Kumtor, while other mineral and hydro resources remain poorly developed. The biggest symptom of economic distress was the rise in number of Kyrgyz migrating to Russia for work; by the end of the oil boom, the numbers were commonly thought to be around a million people and in 2014, the Kyrgyz Republic's remittances to GDP ratio was the third highest in the world. This left the country susceptible to Russian pressure to join the Eurasian Economic Union, which it did in 2015, and vulnerable to downturns in the Russian economy.Less
This chapter looks at the national economy and transition strategies of the Kyrgyz Republic. The Kyrgyz Republic was the most explicit of the Central Asian countries in attempting a rapid transition from central planning. Economic performance was, however, disappointing due to limited resources and poor institutions. The country became highly dependent on revenues from a single goldmine, Kumtor, while other mineral and hydro resources remain poorly developed. The biggest symptom of economic distress was the rise in number of Kyrgyz migrating to Russia for work; by the end of the oil boom, the numbers were commonly thought to be around a million people and in 2014, the Kyrgyz Republic's remittances to GDP ratio was the third highest in the world. This left the country susceptible to Russian pressure to join the Eurasian Economic Union, which it did in 2015, and vulnerable to downturns in the Russian economy.
