Political Economy of Financial Reforms in Authoritarian Transition Economies. A Comparative Case Study of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

Since dissolution of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan adopted different approaches to economic reform, particularly in financial sector. Uzbekistan has adopted gradual reforms with minimal liberalisation whereas Kazakhstan embraced bolder reforms with extensive privatisation and liberalisation in the real economy and financial sector. The impact of reforms varied with lower decline and quicker but more moderate recovery in Uzbekistan. In contrast, Kazakhstan has experienced longer and deeper decline but with greater growth rates in 2000s. The paper discusses the political economy of reforms in these two countries, which share close geographic, demographic, and cultural tights as well as authoritative way of political management. It attempts to analyse the reasons for differing approaches and examines the outcomes of reforms in light of recent/current global financial crisis