Uzbekistan is not usually considered an economic success story, but in fact it is: its GDP increased since 1989 more than in any other post-communist country, except for China, Vietnam and Turkmenistan. The success of Uzbekistan is very much similar to the Chinese – gradual economic reforms...

While most transition countries suffered substantially from the world financial crisis of 2008 and still cope with its consequences, Uzbekistan has stayed almost untouched and shows constant economic growth since 2001. Neither macroeconomic foundations nor available institutional indicators...

1. Introduction -- 2. Uzbekistan : economic gradualism and political stability -- 3. Kazakhstan : oil-boom economy -- 4. Tajikistan : civil war and its aftermath -- 5. The Kyrgyz Republic : the region's rapid reformer -- 6. Turkmenistan : the realm of Turkmenbashi the Great -- 7. Measuring...